Never Or Now
by lightmylumiere
Summary: Not long after Rory leaves for her job reporting on the 2008 election, Lorelai and Luke seem to resume right where they left off, only this time neither of them are waiting for what they want. (set between the show and the revival)
1. Where We Left Off

Where We Left Off

Luke lay next to Lorelai in bed, hardly believing his luck. There she was, sleeping peacefully in his arms, as though this was how it had always been. He absolutely adored her and how well she took to him asking her out again. She didn't even hesitate, it was just like nothing had ever happened.

Of course, things _had_ happened. For starters, now Luke wasn't the only divorcee among them. Lorelai wasn't the only one with a child. They both had successful businesses that were important to Stars Hollow; they were both respected (though only one of them was truly _liked_ more than needed) members of the community. This time they truly wanted the same thing: to stop wasting time and just start being together.

He couldn't stop thinking about how lucky he was. For too long he had kicked himself about the April situation. For too long he beat himself up about the fact that he lied, that he hadn't told her everything as it happened though she could've helped, that he drove her into Christopher's arms. But in the end, none of that changed a thing: Luke and Lorelai were destined to be together, and nothing was going to stop that.

But there was something strangely different this time: Rory was gone. It wasn't like when Rory was at Yale, or when she lived with her grandmother. She had a job, she was a real adult. Luke didn't want to mention that to Lorelai—Rory would always be her little girl, no matter how old she was or what she did—because he feared that she'd use it as a chance to mention how old she was. Usually he'd just scoff at her saying something about her age or anything else, it didn't matter to him and it wasn't as big of a deal as she made it out to be. Being 38 with a 22-year-old daughter who was traveling the country reporting on a presidential candidate? He didn't know anyone else who could say that; only Lorelai and Rory.

Lorelai rolled over and nuzzled her head on Luke's chest. He pulled her closer and brushed her hair back behind her ear, placing a soft kiss on her forehead before dozing off to sleep.

This time it just felt right.

After a week or so of seeing each other once again, the two of them had begun to have a routine. Every morning at six fifteen, Luke would get up and start getting ready for the day. He didn't have a whole lot to prepare—he had to get dressed and all, but not enough to warrant waking up quite as early as he did—but Lorelai would either beg for him to come back to bed or grumble about him cutting on the lights as he got ready. The diner opened at seven, and between either the diner noise (if she was upstairs) or the desire for coffee (if she was at her home) would get her out of bed, dressed, and presentable by eight o'clock. Her order was ready less than ten minutes later, unless she insisted on striking up playful banter with Luke (she always did) in which case it took almost 30 minutes. Then she'd go to work, and he wouldn't see her again until noon or so when she came to pick up lunch, and then he met her at the house around seven. Usually he'd cook her dinner (which she almost always enjoyed) and they'd waste away the rest of their waking day enjoying each other's company in more ways than one. This routine worked for them quite nicely.

There was no pressure now. Lorelai nor Luke knew why, but it was so much simpler for them to be together now. Perhaps it was all timing before—perhaps they could chock up their called-off engagement to poor timing and bad circumstances. This time there was no "April situation" other than that she came every other weekend, Lorelai knew where Rory was (and she wrote regularly, too, so that they could keep tabs on her as well), the Dragonfly was well-established, Christopher wasn't a looming threat, and there was no need for secrets or lies. Luke thought _if I had proposed at a time like this, we'd be married by now_. Then he'd remember that he didn't do any of the proposing to begin with and his thoughts quickly shifted.

Things could've been so different if everything had worked out the first time. They'd be married, he would have been at Rory's Yale graduation, he wouldn't have missed out on anything. Lorelai never would've married Rory's no-good father, or even thought about it. He would've taken her on a nice honeymoon; the two of them would've been the talk of the town as soon as they came back, which he would've hated and Lorelai would've loved. Who knew, maybe Rory would've gotten used to having a stepfather, and April would've enjoyed having a stepmother. Maybe they would've had some little ones running around that were perfectly theirs, making them one big blended Nardini-Gilmore-Danes family. Ah, that was the dream.

 _Why couldn't it be that way_? Luke wondered. Everything that went wrong last time was completely avoidable this time, and for the most part avoided altogether. Lorelai and April had met; Christopher was cleanly out of the picture. The antagonists were gone now. They could move on and things would be so much better than they were.

But this time he wanted to do it right. There wouldn't be any backward glances. There wouldn't be any room for doubt. This time he wasn't leaving anything up to chance, and he wasn't waiting for the right moment anymore. There was never going to be an exact right moment—life wasn't made like that. Luke had to make that right moment _now_.

"Lorelai." He whispered, moving his mouth towards her ear. She stirred a little. He repeated himself. "Lorelai, are you awake?" She let out a grumble and nestled her head a little closer to his neck. "Run away with me."

That got her attention. She sat up a little and looked up at him. "What?"

"We should get married. Soon." He suggested firmly. "We can drive to Atlantic City or something—just a simple ceremony, nice and private. What do you think?"

She sighed. "I think I'm tired and we should talk about this when we've both had coffee. Or at least when _I_ have." She let out a little chuckle but saw the seriousness on his face. "Why so sudden, hon? Is everything okay?" The stern-ness didn't lighten up, he was so deep in thought.

"We can't risk it not working out—not again." He said, having a little difficulty with the words. "I want us to build a life together, have our own family, and I'm done waiting. I don't want something to happen and this—us— _not_." He grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

 _Mr. No-Ultimatums certainly changed his tune_ , Lorelai thought, though she didn't dare to say it. Instead she sat up on the bed and cut on the side lamp. Luke winced at the change in brightness. "You're serious?" He nodded. "Luke, we have a wonderful life right here. I can't have Rory miss my second wedding, especially not one as important as this—"

"So that's a yes?"

"I want to have a family with you, but it's not that simple right now. I can't get married if Rory's not there. When Rory's back in town we can set a date, but when she's on the road like this…" She saw the disappointment on his face. "But when we have kids, my god, they're gonna be some good looking kids." She let out a little laugh, trying to lighten the mood. Lorelai remembered that kids were a part of their original plan before everything went downhill. She hoped he hadn't changed his tune since he found out he already had one.

After a few moments of sitting in silence, Luke collected his thoughts and spoke with a little false confidence. "Let's have a baby."

Lorelai let out an audible laugh. "What?" His tune didn't change. "For a second there it sounded like Luke Danes asked me to have his children." He didn't correct himself and she began a little nervous laughter. "I mean, buddy, when I say _when_ we have kids it's a hypothetical when, not a _hey, how about we do it right now_ type of when—"

"I don't want a 'hypothetical when'." He explained as calmly as he could. "At this point, I have no idea when hypothetical is. What if Rory doesn't decide when she's coming home? What if we miss our chance to get married and still have time for a family of our own? I don't want to wait to spend the rest of my life with you, I know what I want. It doesn't have to include a wedding dress and a huge party. It can be as simple as spending our lives together, committed without all the frills, loving the best and craziest blended family there ever was."

She didn't have to ask if he had thought about this, she could tell he had. And if she was being honest, so had she. Spending her life with him was a dream come true; he was perfect and at long last she realized they were perfect together. And the thought of the two of them having kids had been in her head since that dream about the alarm clocks and twins that she had had years ago. It wasn't the most conventional of means to start a life together—having kids and then getting married—but she never was one for conventionalism. But the idea worried her. "…it may not work, you know." She said, her voice hardly above a whisper. "Even if we try, we may not—I mean, hon, I'm not as young as I was when I had Rory—" She waited for Luke to give a snide remark, one that was probably well deserved. It never came. "—I'm almost forty, Luke. It's not easy when you get up to my age… I just don't want you getting your hopes too high."

"But we can try?" He asked, just seeking clarification. His eyes twinkled. She nodded and he went in for a kiss. Lorelai turned so that he caught her cheek instead.

"Not tonight." She cut off the light, rolled back over in bed and pulled up the covers. They both went to bed with giddy smiles that they knew weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

 _Author's Note: So this is the first installment of my first Gilmore Girls story, and my first story in a very long time. It's taken me ages to fix the formatting, so that you to the first reviewer, Bubbles, for alerting me to the formatting troubles. I think it has been fixed, so please review and let me know what you think!_


	2. A Listening Ear

A Listening Ear

The summer went on just as they had planned it. Her terms of agreement were very simple: they'd try for a child for six months, and if it didn't work out they would decide if they wanted to see a fertility specialist or give up on the whole plan. Luke didn't want to give up, but he didn't want to throw a lot of money into meeting with a specialist. Lorelai wouldn't admit it, but she didn't want to give up either.

It just wasn't that simple. She felt her life just ticking by her. Of course it wouldn't be her first time having kids, but she had Rory so long ago. Rory grew up in a different generation: a generation with less technology, less gadgets and gizmos. And Rory grew up just fine, Lorelai realized, but she got everything Lorelai could offer her little girl—though she wished she could've done more, she gave her daughter everything she had. This time around she wasn't worried about money: she had a job, and a great one at that, and she wasn't sixteen anymore either. Where was the line of correlation drawn between parenting with money and parenting like Emily Gilmore? Lorelai didn't know. She was too afraid of going overboard to truly think about it. Also what if she had another child and he or she was absolutely rotten? Rory was so good for Lorelai; she was perfect, a little too good even. And Luke's kid—April, well, she was a genius. Would the two of them get so lucky to have children that smart and that special? Her worries were foolish, she knew that, but that didn't make her stop having them.

She hadn't told Rory yet. Oh, it was killing her to not tell Rory. But what would she say? Lorelai had imagined anything she could say about the whole situation, even just boiling it down to _Luke and I aren't getting married this time, but we're interested in having a baby_. She heard Rory's voice in her head laughing a little and asking if it was a joke. It sounded funny to her even still, but just because of the situation: the two of them had a teenager and a twenty-something separately, and if everything went according to plan they'd soon have a baby too.

Lorelai got to the Dragonfly according to schedule and immediately went into the kitchen to see Sookie. She had just come back from having her baby—another adorable little girl. Jackson came by the diner when Lorelai was with April to show them all pictures. She just wanted to talk to Sookie, and to tell her what was going on with her and Luke. She had to tell someone or else she thought she'd burst. As soon as she got into the dining room, Lorelai heard something fall in the kitchen. "Well it sounds like either somebody broke into the kitchen, or Sookie is back!"

Sookie let out a squeal and wrapped her best friend in a hug. "I've missed you so much! How's Rory? How are you? God, I haven't seen you in—I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Rory—Rory's good! Super busy, I don't hear from her but once a week…" _Do I tell her now or wait a little bit?_ Lorelai asked herself, gauging the appropriate time to tell Sookie her big news. She decided to wait a bit. "She's good though. I read all her articles—she seems to be enjoying all the travel." Her head bobbed a bit. _Nope, not now._ "So what's on the menu for today, Sook?"

Sookie shuffled around the kitchen and Lorelai followed her as she explained the menu. "We have chicken and dumplings, a nice salad, some cornbread, and for dessert I'm—well, what should I pair with this… I'm thinking apple tarts!"

"That sounds really good. Do you need anything?" Lorelai asked, knowing good and well that Sookie's answer was going to be no. True to her guess, Sookie shook her head. "Well then I'm going to grab some coffee and I'll be out of your hair." She poured herself a cup of coffee, grabbed an apple out of the bowl on the counter, and started out.

Sookie sucked her teeth as she pulled Lorelai back into the kitchen. "No no no, you don't get away that easily." She said. She pointed to the apple. "What's that?"

"Contrary to popular belief about my diet, fruit." Lorelai gasped. _Fruit? I hate fruit. The only time I don't hate fruit…_ "Sookie, there's a _little_ bit you missed while you were gone…"

Sookie nodded. "Well I should say! The second Lorelai Gilmore starts eating healthy… wait, you told me the last time you ate fruit willingly you were preg—"

"Well, Luke and I—"

"Luke?" Sookie cut her off. "Luke Danes? The guy from the diner, your _ex fiancé…_ that Luke?"

Lorelai nodded. "That Luke. After Rory's going away party we kinda—we sorta—"

"Sorta what?" Sookie gasped and covered her mouth. "Are you two back together?" Lorelai nodded, leading Sookie to giggle like a high schooler. It seemed childish a little, but Sookie's juvenile excitement made Lorelai feel a little better about the news.

"But wait, there's more." Lorelai told her very seriously.

Sookie's laughter stopped. "Lorelai, if you eloped AGAIN and I wasn't told about it…"

"Nothing like that!" Lorelai scoffed. "No, we're not married. Not even close. Don't you worry about that!" Sookie let out an audible sigh. "Luke and I—we're trying to have a baby."

Sookie squealed, though her face still appeared to be a little confused and stunned. Lorelai realized how it sounded when she said it out loud. "Have you told Rory yet?"

Lorelai shook her head. "It—it hasn't come up yet. I just don't want to worry her, you know?" Lorelai tossed the apple back and forth from hand to hand. "I mean… I don't want her to worry about me and Luke; she needs to focus on her job and not worry about her mom… What would you tell Davey if you and Jackson were planning on having another one?"

Sookie snickered. "Well, for starters, Davey's a toddler. And Jackson got a vasectomy after baby number three, so Jackson would care more than Davey would've…" She could read that that wasn't what Lorelai wanted to hear. "You know she's going to find out eventually, when you and Luke do have a baby… do you know yet?"

Lorelai looked down at the apple in her hand. _Why an apple, why now?_ She wondered, knowing exactly what she had to do. "No… now if you'll excuse me, I believe I have to drive another town over and—well—" She gestured to the apple. "—get this taken care of."

Sookie shook her shoulders a little bit with glee. "Talk to Rory!" She piped with as her best friend left the kitchen. Lorelai headed on her way, and as soon as she was in the car she put down the apple and dialed her daughter's number.

 _Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews! This is the next installment, with many more to come. But I'd love to know what you want to see happen in this story so please review and let me know what you think!_


	3. Kids

Kids

Rory looked down at her phone as it buzzed in the bus seat beside her. MOM flashed up in all caps, and she started to worry almost immediately. Ever since she had been on the road her mom didn't call her, she called her mom (she always worried about interrupting something). She answered it immediately. "Is everything okay?"

"Wow, no 'hi mom, how are you doing? I haven't heard from you in ages' none of that?" The snarky voice on the other line asked.

 _Only my mother,_ thought Rory. "Hi mom, how are you doing? I haven't heard from you in ages." She parroted. "But seriously, is everything okay?"

Lorelai paused. She was nervous to answer that question. Was everything okay? She hadn't told her daughter what was going on. She decided she'd bring it up when the time was right, not lead with it. "What, can't a mother call to check on her favorite daughter?"

"I—I mean she can." Rory answered. "You just usually don't—where are you anyways? Is it that slow of a day at the Dragonfly that you decide to call me?"

"I'm not at the Dragonfly." Lorelai explained. "There's just—there's a lot that has happened since you left, things I didn't include in our emails."

 _Of course_ , Rory thought, though she didn't want to interrupt her mother. "Just don't tell me you and dad are together… again."

Those words stung a bit, but it wasn't unjustified, Lorelai realized. "NO!" She took a deep breath, and tried that again. "No, I'm not—not Christopher, no."

 _Not Christopher, no_ … what did that mean? "What's going on, mom?" Rory asked, honestly a little scared of what her mom would say next.

Lorelai took a deep breath. "So you remember when you left, when Luke opened early so you could get a last cup of coffee before hitting the road and not coming back to Stars Hollow for who-knows-how-long?"

"Yes…"

"Well, something happened before that, something I didn't tell you about because we were having as much mother-daughter time as we could."

"Okay…" This conversation was starting to make Rory a little nervous.

 _Here goes_ , Lorelai thought, as she began to tell where this story stemmed from. "I kissed Luke."

 _Well that's not really news_ , Rory thought, knowing that her mother and Luke had been off-and-on again from the beginning. "Okay…"

"There's more." Lorelai continued, this time leaving no room for interruption. "So since then Luke and I have been together, and we've decided that we—well, we don't want to wait to be together anymore."

"What does that mean exactly?" Lorelai didn't answer her child at first. "Mom, did you—are you and Luke m—"

"We're not married if that's what you're wondering." Lorelai said quickly. Why did everyone jump to that conclusion? _Gosh, you do it one time…_ "I couldn't get married if you weren't there, not again. I'm never eloping again, cross my heart."

Rory sighed. "Then what does that mean, for you and Luke?"

"I never told you where I am!" Lorelai realized, trying to skirt by the topic. "I'm in my car heading to Woodbury. The whole town would flip if they knew what I was buying, it would spread like wildfire, and I don't want anything spreading yet…"

The younger Gilmore girl gasped. "Mom, are you—you and Luke—"

"I think so, kid." Lorelai put the car in park and let out a sigh. "Well, I'm going in. Any questions before I do?"

"Do you think Luke will be happy?" Rory asked, hoping that he would. Before Luke found out about April, he bought the Twickam house for them to live in and start a family in. Of course, Rory knew her mother was too stubborn to move. But a part of her always wondered what it would be like, her mother and Luke actually starting a family together. Rory would have a father figure that wasn't super flaky and that didn't cause problems every time he saw her mother… hopefully.

"I really hope so. I'll call you later, okay? Love you, honey, bye."

Lorelai hung up on Rory and all of the sudden she was nervous. What if it was positive? What would Luke think, and what would they do? I mean, for starters, where would the baby live? Would the baby live with her in the house, or would he or she live with Luke; would she and Luke move in together? She imagined they would live together, because a baby in the diner full time… the idea of that made her laugh a little. But then she started to imagine… what if the test was negative? It sounded crazy, but she hoped that she could tell Luke good news at the end of the day. She knew all of her nervousness was arbitrary, but that didn't change anything.

She bought the test and couldn't wait to take it. The grocery store bathroom seemed like a super cliché place to take it, but she didn't want to drive all the way home or back to work… she was nervous. But for as nervous as she was, she couldn't stop thinking about Rory. It sounded silly, but she had so many amazing memories of baby Rory and she couldn't wait to do that again. And this time, this little baby would have a father in their life. Luke… Luke had never dealt with babies. He had a daughter but he didn't know that until she was almost a teenager. He had known Rory when she was younger than his own child was when he met her. What would Luke be like with a baby? He'd watched Doula before but… that was different. This would be his own baby, his own flesh and blood, and he couldn't return it when he got tired of it. This one would be his, hers… _theirs_. As pleasing as the idea was, there was so much that could go wrong. Now she could only wait.

It felt like she waited forever. She dialed her phone once more. It rang. After a couple rings the person on the other line picked up. "So do I have a little brother or sister or not?"

Lorelai let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know! I'm too scared to check."

"Well I can't check for you, I'm across the country!"

"Y'know, why don't we just do it the old fashioned way? Wait nine months, and if there's a baby I'm pregnant and if not then—"

Rory groaned. "Just check it. What's the worst that could happen?"

 _The worst?_ thought Lorelai. What really was the worst thing that test could say? She grabbed the test and before she even opened her eyes to look at it she answered Rory. "See, I didn't want to tell you until I knew for sure—I didn't want you to worry about it, because no matter what happens you're the best kid I could've ever asked for… my favorite daughter…"

"Stop stalling and tell me!"

Lorelai sighed and decided it was about time to look at the test and find out for sure. She opened one eye only for a moment and shut them both tightly, then opened her eyes once more to actually look at the test. "Well, kid, you may not be my favorite daughter much longer."

Rory let out a squeal, then looking around the bus she was on self-consciously. No one else knew why she was so excited, and she felt like all eyes were on her (in all fairness, many were). "Tell Luke then! Go straight to the diner and you tell him. And I'll call you tonight, you have to tell me how it goes!"

Lorelai let out a little laugh as her daughter hung up on her. She knew exactly what to do.

 _Author's Note: Hey, guys! I'd love to know if you're reading this, so please review! Tell me what you think, what you think should happen next, so on and so forth. I really want you guys' feedback so that I can continue to take this story in a direction that you all want it to go. Thank you in advance,_ _ **please**_ _review!_


	4. Coffee Break

Coffee Break

Noon, every day like clockwork. That was when Lorelai rushed through the door, sat at the counter, and pretended she didn't know what to order and that she needed to look at a menu (she never did, and her food was almost always ready when she got there). And coffee. Luke usually stopped serving coffee when breakfast was over, but ever since Lorelai had been in his life he knew that if the diner was open, there was coffee in the pot. He had adjusted to that, and now he prepared her artery-clogging meal of choice for when she got there so that it was hot and ready.

But noon passed, as did twelve thirty.

Lorelai ran into the diner at five after one. The diner was almost completely empty at this time, which was exactly what she was hoping for. _No watching eyes, no interruptions_ … "Sorry, sorry!" She called as Luke stood in the kitchen, giving a few orders to Caesar. He came out to see her standing there with a smug grin on her face despite apologizing for breaking their routine.

"Burger and fries and coffee?" He asked, not shaking their routine. He was a routine type person, which also worked great since he was in the business he was in.

She nodded. "You don't even have to ask anymore." Then she remembered. "Actually, water."

Luke shrugged and went back towards the kitchen. "No coffee, got it. Caesar! Lorelai's burger!" Lorelai heard a little grumbling from both men, but soon enough Luke came back with a burger with all the fixings, a glass of ice water, and a small plate of fries. Lorelai immediately picked up the burger and took a big bite out of it. Luke just watched her for a moment. "Are you alright?" He asked quietly as she continued to chew.

"Yesh." She said, her mouth still full.

"There was lettuce on there." He said. It sounded so urgent anyone who heard them would have assumed she was allergic to vegetables or something. "Lettuce, tomatoes… everything you usually pick off and complain about."

Lorelai shrugged. "I guess I know I have to start taking care of myself better."

Luke still looked skeptical. "Are you sure you're alright? You may just need to go home, rest a little, and you'll be back to your old self. Punchy, snarky, not eating vegetables, drinking double your weight in coffee…" He started to lead her upstairs and out of the diner. "A little nap and you'll be just fine…"

"Luke, I'm better than fine." She said with a grin, giving him a kiss on the cheek once they were behind the curtain. "Nervous, sure, but who isn't, and overall a little bit worried about the whole thing but—" The worry in his eyes grew. "—you don't need to worry about _me_. You should, however, think about _us_." She said, looking down at her stomach. His eyes followed.

Soon a smile appeared across his face. "We—we're having a baby." He said, not meaning it as coldly as it sounded. It was just a lot to process… he and Lorelai were, together, parents. Parents to this little unborn baby that still seemed like a dream. He had a teenager, she had an adult daughter, and now they were pregnant. He saw the waiting in her face, Lorelai just itching for a response out of him. He gave her a kiss and then pulled away and started asking questions. "How are you feeling? How long have you known? Have you told Rory—god, how are we gonna tell April and Anna? How—"

"You know, I could really go for that cup of coffee before we get into all this." Lorelai rolled her eyes.

He folded his arms. "Decaf. No regular coffee for the baby, not on my watch." They returned back to the diner while he fixed her coffee. She went back to eating the burger she left behind. He handed her the mug and she nearly gagged at first, but she did end up stomaching decaf coffee. _Coffee breaks at the Dragonfly just aren't going to be the same anymore_ , Lorelai thought, wondering if that was how Sookie felt every time she was pregnant and at the inn. Lorelai always had a mug of coffee; this was definitely an adjustment but she knew it was one she couldn't (primarily because Luke would never allow her to) not make. He saw her starting to pick at her sandwich. "And don't pick off the lettuce now that I've mentioned it! You need to be eating your vegetables."

She stuck her tongue out at him. He was right, she knew, but she wouldn't tell him that. She continued to eat her burger as Luke's mind started to churn.

He just had so many questions. I mean, this was what he wanted: a family with Lorelai. It's all he, honestly, ever thought he wanted. Now he could feel it—it was so close! Yet his thoughts kept spinning. Was she happy? Had she told her parents? _Was_ she going to tell her parents? Based on her stories involving her parents, he doubted she would tell them willingly. When was the right time to tell everyone in town? Everyone in town would want to know eventually, but he didn't want to tell them, he knew that she would! What about doctor's appointments, health defects, medical risks… Lorelai grabbed his arm, noticing him going pale. "You need to sit down, hon." She said, easing him around the counter by his sleeve. He plopped down on the bar stool beside her, still looking absolutely stunned. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "I just—you're sure?" She nodded, her eyebrows knitting together. He knew she wouldn't tell him unless she was sure. "What do we do next? I—I mean; you've done this before."

Lorelai kept forgetting that though he had a child of his own he still knew nothing about them. "Well, we'll have to go see an obstetrician…" She started.

"Obse—you have one of those, right? I mean, from Rory?"

"I was sixteen." Lorelai reminded him. "I was still seeing a pediatrician. My parents didn't—that's not the point. We need to find one, but it can't be too hard."

"But you've told Rory." He stated, still processing. Mentally he was ticking off every question after she answered it. She nodded. "Have you told your parents? And when will we tell April and Anna?"

She shook her head. "No to the parents, I'm imagining they'll figure out how they did the first time: when it's too obvious for them not to notice anymore. As for April, I'll let you decide that."

"But she should know, right?" Luke double checked. "I mean, Rory knows. One of this kid's siblings already knows—oh god, what about the town? You'll want to tell the town. The town will be gushing and _ooh_ ing and _ah-_ ing and coming in here and—"

"You're cute when you're panicking." She commented with a giggle, leaning over and kissing him. He still looked incredibly nervous. "Are you happy?"

Happy? Happy didn't even begin to describe how he felt. Confused, he had a lot of questions, but he hadn't felt this happy in a very long time. The last time Luke remembered feeling that happy was when he and Lorelai finally got together the first time. "I—I am so happy."

"Happy about little jam hands?" _Jam hands_ , Luke thought, trying to remember the moment that he used those exact words. He knew he said it, he remembered mentioning it, and he remembered it still being a point that she could mock him for.

"They're our little jam hands." He said, taking her hands in his. "They could be the, damn, jammiest hands—but they're our jam hands." She smiled at him, only making his smile grow bigger. "They'll make our hands jammy too, I guess, but… we're going to have a baby!" He gave her a kiss, breaking his smile only for their lips to meet.

She checked her watch. " _And_ my coffee break is over, are you going to be alright? You can't chicken out on me now…"

He grabbed her hand and smiled. "Go, I'll be here when you get back." She headed out the door, knowing that Luke Danes was a man of his word.

 _Author's Note: and here is the next installment! I am so pleased to hear from so many of you about the story, and that you are enjoying it. Please review and tell me what you think, I love hearing from you guys!_


	5. Drinks and Dinners

Drinks and Dinners

Lorelai sat in the kitchen at the Dragonfly, staring at the coffee maker, drinking only water out of her mug. She heard Luke's voice ringing in her ears, _decaf only on my watch_ , and so she was at least trying to follow what he wanted. She didn't enjoy it, but she was going to try and do what he asked, at least to calm his nerves.

Yet she was still uneasy. That morning she looked in the mirror to check for any obvious changes, see if she was showing at all. She knew she wouldn't be, but she checked anyways. _It's Friday_ , was all she could keep saying to herself, _your parents will notice something's wrong._ She couldn't make it through dinner without a couple martinis. Maybe she could… no, she couldn't skip dinner. Luke had to go to dinner, too, now; what would her parents have to say about that? _Hey, mom and dad, I know you've been missing having Rory at family dinners, so I decided to replace her with my ex-fiancé and the father of my unborn child that you guys don't like, how about that?_ She couldn't find any way to make that sound more pleasant.

Why was she so nervous? As he kept pointing out, she _had_ done this before. She had been pregnant; she had raised a child before. Luke hadn't but she had. But it was so long ago… it felt like that whole part of her life was a dream. A lot had changed in the past twenty-odd years. Raising a child in 2007…boy, it was different than the '80s. There was so much more technology, and everything around them was changing so rapidly. Also, there was a slightly different boon: this kid had two parents, two ever-present parents. And not just any two parents, it was Lorelai and Luke. Luke was a great dad to April, and a great influence in Rory's life, and Lorelai was so lucky.

One thing hadn't changed: her parents. Gosh, what would they have to say? She kept imagining how the conversation would go down, but no matter what she imagined she couldn't bring herself to tell them. She put down her mug and reached into her pocket for her phone. She had told Luke that they should wait to mention it until the first trimester ended, just in case. But he was adamant that he wanted to tell them: he said he would tell his parents as soon as he knew, if they were still alive. He knew how excited his parents would've been, and no matter how many times she mentioned hers weren't going to feel the same way he didn't back down. "Hello?" The voice on the other line answered, and Lorelai kept trying to figure out what to say next. "Hello, are you there?"

She gulped. "Mom, hi."

"Hello, Lorelai." Emily Gilmore said coolly.

"I'm sorry, have I called you at a bad time? I can—I can call late—"

"You're fine, Lorelai, but why are you calling?" She quipped,

Why was she calling? It certainly didn't calm her down any. If anything, having her mother on the line made her more concerned. She felt a little bit nauseous even, but whether that was because of her mother or her child she couldn't tell. "I—I need a plus one."

"What?"

Lorelai took a deep breath and repeated herself. "A plus-one, for dinner tonight." She took another breath. With every second in her mother's pause she felt her stomach churning. With a sip of water, it subsided for a moment.

 _A plus-one_ , Emily repeated mentally, wondering who it could be. Gosh, knowing her daughter it could've been anyone… she didn't want to think to much about whomever she wanted to bring to dinner. "I'll have Luisa set an extra plate for your guest." She heard an audible sigh on the other line. "Lorelai, are you alright?"

"Mom, I have to go. Thank you, I'll see you tonight." She hung up on her mother, and hurried into the restroom to empty her stomach.

Later that evening, Lorelai waited in the diner for Luke to close up. She was dressed to the absolute nines—a black dress that showed off her figure quite nicely, some simple black heels, her hair pulled away from her face. He always thought she looked nice, but the way she dressed for Friday night dinners at her parents' house was something else. She slumped over the counter, resting her face in her hands while propping herself up with her elbows. "I'm almost done." He promised her. "Do I look alright?" He asked, suddenly self-conscious about his own attire. Events hosted by the Gilmores—dinners included—had a dress code stricter than any other events he had ever been to.

She shook her head. "A flannel and a baseball cap do not cut it, not with Emily Gilmore. Go put on a suit… I know you have a suit." He sighed and went upstairs to change. "You know we can always wait to tell them. Hell, we can wait till the baby comes to tell them." She reminded him, calling up the stairs. While he was upstairs she went into the kitchen and got herself a glass of water.

Luke came back down, suit-clad and hair combed, and Lorelai was nowhere in sight. He just heard retching softly coming from the kitchen. "Lorelai—" He called, hurrying towards the noise. _In the kitchen_ , thought he, wondering what led her to his diner's nearly immaculate kitchen. He saw her standing over the sink, looking down as the water ran through it. He grabbed her a glass out of the cabinet and filled it up for her, leading her back out of the kitchen with the glass in her hands. He sat her down and got her a napkin to clean off her face a little. "Lorelai, are you alright? Can I get you anything, do you want me to tell your parents we aren't—"

"I'm fine." She said feebly, her teeth gritted. He had never seen her quite this fragile, venturing towards being helpless. Lorelai wasn't helpless—he knew that very, very well—but he had never seen her quite as sick as she was then, at least not that outwardly sick. Despite eating nothing but junk, he hadn't even seen her with a bad cold! " _Your_ baby just doesn't seem to like me a whole lot right now. I'm fine, don't worry."

"This is normal." He said, though it was more of a question. She nodded, continuing to sip on her water. "This happens to everyone?"

Lorelai couldn't help but laugh a little. "Most of the time, yeah." He nodded, trying to process. "Don't worry, hon, it usually ends after about the third month or so."

 _Months,_ he thought. _Months of her being sick, all for their kid_ … he couldn't even begin to imagine. He quickly changed the subject. "You look amazing." He said, admiring her dress.

"You look pretty nice yourself." She looked at the clock on the wall, realizing the time. "Now we could stay here, and forget that we got all dressed up, or we could go to my parents' for dinner. Your call…"

He shook his head. "We're going, so long as you feel up to it. Are you alright?" She nodded and grabbed his hand. "Then dinner it is."

The car ride was quiet. Well, quiet enough. Nothing was ever truly quiet if Lorelai Gilmore was there. She didn't say too much, he just asked her questions about how dinner worked and what was going to happen, and she proceeded to tell him her worries and quiz him on questions her mother and father may ask him.

They pulled into the driveway and he grabbed her hand before they got out of the car. "One last thing: are we going to tell them? They have a right to know."

"We should wa…"She saw the look on his face, a look that she recognized all too well. It was one that was yearning for some kind of approval, a look that she had seen in Rory's eyes any time she had news she wanted to tell Richard and Emily Gilmore. There was so much hope in his eyes, she just couldn't crush it, despite her fears for the evening. "They're the grandparents, after all." He grinned but quickly brought his excitement back down so that they matched on that level. Lorelai just never imagined him being so excited to tell _her_ parents, her judgmental parents.

Lorelai knocked on the door, unsure as to how they were going to get through dinner. She blanched, and Luke held her hand tightly. The maid—Emily had called her Luisa over the phone, so she assumed that was her name—opened the door and led the two into the living room where they started every Friday night with drinks. "Gin martini with a twist." Richard said from the bar cart, passing his daughter a drink. Luke took it out of her hand and mouthed _water_ to the older man. "And water for the gentleman." Emily sat stern-faced across from them, waiting for Richard to return to his seat. He gave Luke the glass of water, which he proceeded to pass back to Lorelai. She took a gulp as if it were alcoholic, hoping it would help in the same manner.

Emily cleared her throat, watching Luke and Lorelai sip. "To what do we owe the pleasure, Mr.…"

"Danes, ma'am… please, call me Luke." Luke reminded her. They must have met dozens of times, but no matter how many times they saw one another it never became easier for her to be around him. He never remembered her, but she couldn't remember him. "Well, Lorelai invited me, and… you know." He dwindled off. _I can see why she doesn't want to tell them_ , Luke thought in spite of himself, _they're not the most easygoing people_.

Richard watched his daughter nursing the water glass and Luke taking sips of the martini, though clearly not enjoying it. "You know, Luke, if you had wanted a martini you could've just asked for one." Luke took a large sip and let out a heavy breath, shaking his head. "Lorelai, would you like me to fix you another martini, one you can actually have?"

"Thanks, Dad, but…" Her mother arched an eyebrow. "I've been under the weather lately, and either Luke or I have to drive home…" Richard dropped the subject.

As if sensing the awkwardness of the room, the maid came back in and told them that dinner was ready. They sat down to a decent sized feast: Caesar salads, grilled chicken breast, cubed melons in little glass dishes, and of course a good bottle of wine on the table right beside Lorelai's seat (as she was usually the one that had the most wine with dinner). _Wine would make this so much better_ , she thought, deciding to sit at the place set for Luke instead of her own usual seat. Emily watched all of this carefully though she did not comment on it when they sat down to eat.

Through dinner, it was mostly small talk. Lorelai hardly looked up from her plate while Richard and Luke talked about trivial little things: the world of business, things that they had recently read about (which Lorelai quizzed him on in the car), and most importantly the work that Rory was doing. Both men were practically gushing about the dear youngest Gilmore girl. As dinner ended, Emily cleared her throat. "This is great, I'm sure, but you never answered my question earlier. Why. Are. You. Here."

Luke's eyes got wide and he looked at Lorelai for guidance. "Well, ma'am, that's actually an interesting—see, your daughter—I—we—"

"Mom, dad: I'm pregnant." Lorelai said, cutting Luke off from his floundering. Richard's smile turned to a look of puzzlement, and Emily's jaw just dropped. "It's Luke's—in case that was a question—and we're happy. And I want you to be happy too."

Richard looked at Luke, who still looked absolutely terrified from the conversation now underway. But he had seen how Lorelai looked at him, and how he looked at his daughter. He had done so many wonderful things for his daughter and granddaughter: he had been the father Rory never had in her life, that he could tell. Emily was still nonplussed, but Richard smiled. "Another grandchild… I never thought this day would come. Congratulations to you both."

"When's the wedding." Emily demanded. "Don't tell me it's already happened and you forgot to leave a voicemail this time."

 _Of course that's the concern._ Lorelai shook her head. "No, no wedding. Not until after the baby comes, at the very least. We've discussed this—Luke and I have." Luke nodded, still looking straight ahead at Lorelai as she addressed her parents.

"Two grandchildren—both out of wedlock, both with different men. Why I—"

"What your mother means to say," Richard led, cutting off his wife and looking at his daughter with the biggest grin he could manage. "Lorelai, we are so excited for the two of you. Another grandchild: what an absolute blessing. Isn't that right, Emily?"

Emily couldn't let this blow over, she had to speak her mind. She always did. "I'm trying to understand. Lorelai, you've done this before. You've had a child when you weren't married to the father, and the father left you. You were engaged to this man before, Lorelai, and you didn't marry _him_ , you married Rory's father, and that didn't even last. Why do you keep doing this to yourself? Why do you keep throwing yourself into situations with all the wrong people? You mark my words, this child is going to end up just like Rory did: raised by a sing—"

"With all due respect, Mrs. Gilmore," Luke led, cutting off the woman quite forcefully as he stood up at his place. "I have watched your daughter raise Rory, and she did a damn fine job without having that poor girl's father around. Lorelai is a better parent than any sets of parents I have ever met. I hope to be the kind of parent to April and to our baby that Lorelai has been to your granddaughter. If our child ends up even half like Rory—half as smart, as respectful, as beautiful, as driven—I would be the proudest man in all of town."

Emily's lips turned down for just a moment. "That's right, you have another child. By another woman."

"Yes, I do. I have a beautiful daughter ten years younger than your granddaughter. A daughter that that _other woman_ kept from me for twelve years. A daughter that I want to set a good example for." Luke took a deep breath, seeing Lorelai starting to get worked up. "Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore: I'm not going anywhere. I would never leave your daughter; I would never leave this baby. It would honestly kill me to not have them in my life." Lorelai's heart sank a little, seeing the search for approval draining from his eyes. It had been almost forty years and even she hadn't gotten it yet.

"Thanks for dinner, Mom and Dad, but I'm still not feeling great. I think Luke and I are going to head home…" Richard looked disheartened to see them heading out of the dining room. "Thanks again, for your support."

Richard watched Lorelai walk out of the dining room hand-in-hand with the gentleman from the diner, unsure as to whether or not the two of them would ever join them for dinner again.

As soon as they got in the car, Luke said four simple words with such force she could tell that his heart was broken by the Gilmores. "Twelve weeks, no exceptions." And the two of them drove off without another word.

 _Author's Note: Okay, for starters this chapter was_ really _long. This is likely going to be the length of future chapters just because there's so much to put in! Also, secondly, thank you to_ _lorelaidanesfan_ _for mentioning the "12 weeks rule",which I had hoped to include but imagine the two of them getting a little carried away. As always, please let me know what you think. I love hearing from you all!_


	6. The Other Girl

The Other Girl

Luke had lost track of time, his calendar all just kind of running together. Lorelai had had one doctor's appointment that she went to on her own (her regular doctor helped her find an obstetrician), and since then it had just been work for the two of them and coming home to one another at the end of the day. September passed and soon October did too, and Luke looked down at his calendar to find that April was coming up for Thanksgiving weekend with him up from New Mexico. Lorelai hadn't lost count of time: 8 weeks since she told him, and 13 weeks since she found out she was pregnant.

He hadn't told April yet about the baby, or about him and Lorelai living together. As far as she knew, Lorelai was her dad's "friend" who spent far too much time at the diner.

Luke guessed it just never came up in conversation, there wasn't any particular reason to skirt the subject. He had to tell April before she came, he knew that, if she got dropped off at the diner and ended up staying at Lorelai's place, Anna would have a fit.

Lorelai sat at the counter, looking at her planner and making little sticky-note reminders for Luke to put on his calendar. "So there are all the upcoming appointments, I made notes for April coming this weekend—and I've double checked with Rory, we're getting a trundle bed in her room so that they both have a place to stay when they're both here, and a separate nursery so that they're not staying with the baby… did she have anything that she wanted to do while she was here? I was thinking we could go see a movie or go to a museum or something…"

"I—I haven't told her or Anna yet." Luke admitted, feeling a little sheepish. He grabbed the sticky-notes and transferred them from her planner to his calendar. She raised her eyebrows, disappointed but not surprised. After dealing with her parents, she wouldn't be shocked if he never told anyone about the baby again. "I'm going to call them, right now, you're my witness." He picked up the diner phone and dialed as quickly as his fingers could. "Hey, Anna, it's Luke—you know that, I know. I need to talk to April. It's import—can you just put her on the other line? I know she's out of—yes, thank you."

He waited. Lorelai watched him carefully as he tilted his neck to keep himself hands-free while he refilled coffee mugs across the bar. Lorelai had a little space between herself and the rest of the customers: she always got the seat closest to the cash register, insisting it was a perk of sleeping with the owner. People always laughed at this comment, and she couldn't help but constantly think _if only you knew…_

"April, hey." _Hey… dad. What's up?_ "I—I wanted to call and see, how are things?" Lorelai could sense the awkwardness through the other line. _Things are fine, I guess._ "I'm excited to see you next weekend." _Oh yeah, the Stars Hollow trip!_ "You—you're still coming this weekend, right?" _Of course I am, I just hadn't checked my calendar… actually, dad, I'm supposed to be coming up this week._ "Week—this week?" _Yeah. Thanksgiving is this Thursday, and I'm coming up the last week of December._ "Oh, well—I have to make a few arrangements, April, I—I can't believe I wrote it down wrong." _Dad, it's fine—_ "Actually, April, I did have a reason to call. And it's not just because I got the dates wrong." Lorelai appreciated how upfront about this Luke was. If he had been that upfront about April things would've been so different… "Do you remember Lorelai?" _Lorelai… the woman from the diner, the one you're always with… her daughter's the one we met as Jess' book thing, right?_ "Yeah, that's—that was Rory. Anyways, Lorelai planned your thirteenth birthday party, the one you had here? Remember that one?" _As far as I remember that was my only birthday party in the diner, yeah._ "Do you remember her?" _Um… every time I'm in town you introduce me to her, so yeah I think I know her a little._ "Well, she's—I don't live at the diner anymore, sweetheart." Luke saying sweetheart almost made Lorelai giggle. "I… live at Lorelai's now, she has a nice house." _So I'll be staying in a house, not an office above a diner, that's the concern?_ "Well, actually, that's not the full concern. I mean, you have a room here—well, it's Rory's room, but Rory doesn't live here any—Lorelai and I are together." _Weren't you two engaged when I first met her?_ "We were—but we're not—but we do, um, well—" _Not engaged, own room, actual house, Lorelai the woman from my birthday party… what am I missing?_ "We're having a baby." _I'm sorry, what?_ Lorelai wished she had heard the girl's reaction. Was it happy, or sad, or confused? She could have only imagined telling teenage Rory that she was no longer going to be an only child. Adult Rory probably felt a little relieved that her mother would have someone new to coddle. "We're preg—" _No, I got that. I—is it a boy or a girl?_ "We don't know yet, kid." _I'm going to be a big sister! I_ am _going to be a big sister, that's how this works, even though we have different mothers, right?_ "Yes, that is how that works." Luke let out a light laugh. It must've been good, he wouldn't have been laughing if the conversation had been bad. "Well, half-sister, technically." _But little whoever would still call me their sister, even though I'm only half._ "Yes, you and Rory would both be big sisters." _So it's like I have a sister too?_ "Yes, that—stepsister if you want to think about it like that—Lorelai, she can call Rory her stepsister, right?" Lorelai shrugged. It didn't really hurt her any; besides, Rory would probably like the idea of being April's stepsister. They were both so incredibly bookish and smart, they would get along great (though Lorelai knew that Rory had a much better sense of humor than April did). _So I get to be a big sister_ and _a little sister. Cool._ "Are you excited?" _Yeah, I am!_ "See you soon, kid." _My flight lands at four o'clock on Wednesday. See you then, dad._ And just like that, their conversation ended.

Luke let out an exasperated sigh. "Well now April knows." Lorelai said, grabbing his hand as it hit the counter. He smiled. "And she's coming sooner, so I need to go and make the bed, and clean a little—Anna doesn't usually fly with her, does she? Because that—that would be bad." He shook his head. "Then coffee to go and I'll make her bed, okay?" He filled her up a travel cup of decaf, she gave him a quick kiss, and headed home.

Lorelai stepped into Rory's room for the first time in what seemed like ages. Everything was just the way that her daughter had left it: clothes hanging in the closet, bed unmade, books piled on her desk from where she had taken them off of her bookshelf. She remembered when she used to go into Rory's closet when she was away at Yale and borrow items of clothing, just as Rory used to do with her mother's wardrobe. _I'm not sure any of this would fit me,_ Lorelai thought as she looked through the clothing. She wasn't showing yet (though she looked herself over in the mirror almost every day), she just looked like she had eaten a sizable lunch.

Using Rory's full-length mirror, she gave herself another look. Just a tiny bump in place of her flat stomach, hardly a change considering she was out of the first trimester now. But there was a noticeable change not from her stomach: her chest had certainly increased in size since she found out she was pregnant. She had been covering this up with large sweaters and so happy that it was getting colder and coats were seasonable again. _Maybe,_ thought she, _a dress would fit, it would be nice to wear something other than a sweater…_ She went up to her room to get a dress before grabbing the sheets and making the bed.

After making the bed and getting fully dressed and ready for the day, Lorelai headed into the Dragonfly. She had been taking it easy at work, only coming in when she needed to, knowing good and well that Michele and Sookie knew what they were doing. Besides, now that summer was over the tourists were primarily gone until winter rolled around (why people didn't come up during the fall to look at the leaves she still never really understood, she thought it was beautiful). She hurried in and immediately went to the front desk. Michele was leaning over the computer keyboard, looking at the room bookings for the rest of the month. "Michele, are you going to answer the phone?"

"I've taken too many personal calls for you and Sookie today, so, no." He answered bluntly, his accent thick. She reached around him and picked up the phone, only to hang up quickly. "Let me guess: personal or prank, no?"

 _My mother,_ she thought, though she wouldn't mention it. "You said you got calls for me, who from?"

"Your mother." He said, nonplussed. He didn't even look up at her. "She's called five times today, eight calls yesterday…" Michele looked up at his boss and did a double take. "What are you wearing."

"A dress, perhaps you've seen one before." She looked down at her dress. Just a black dress with a v-cut neckline, nothing too formal. She had a blazer in her Jeep since she wore her coat in to work, but she took that off in her office.

Michele scowled a little. "I know it's a dress. You're running a risk of flashing our customers." He commented, pointing at her cleavage. She was practically pouring out of the dress. "Did you have someone to impress today, hmm?"

She shrugged, trying to find the words to say. Sookie charged into the lobby from the kitchen, keeping Lorelai from saying anything at all. "Michele, how many times do I—Lorelai!" She wrapped her friend in a tight hug, not commenting on the dress that Michele had already mentioned. "I didn't know you were coming in this morning; didn't you say you were just coming in this afternoon?" She held Lorelai at arm's length and looked at her dress. Her eyes grew wide. "That's—wow, that's quite a dress. What's the occasion?"

"Can't I dress nicely every now and then?" Lorelai asked, looking from Sookie back to Michele.

Michele scoffed. "You can dress nicely without showing everyone your chest, I'm sure."

"I mean, wow." Sookie said again, her eyes overly focused on the top of the dress. "Is—is this new? I don't think I've seen this—dress before."

Lorelai nodded. "I've worn this before, many times I think." She couldn't remember the last time she wore it—it had been a while, she knew that, but it wasn't the first time Sookie had seen it, of that she was sure.

"Huh." Sookie said, shrugging and spinning on her toes to head back into the kitchen. Lorelai followed closely. "So today's menu, I'm sure you were wondering. Roasted garlic potatoes, grilled fish, green beans—"

"Sookie, I'm pregnant." Lorelai blurted as soon as the kitchen door shut. "I know I should've told you sooner, I've only known a couple months, but Luke didn't want us telling anyone, but I had to—"

Sookie squealed and wrapped her in another hug, jumping up and down. "Lorelai's having a baby, Lorelai's having _Luke's_ baby…" She chanted in a sing-song manner. She then stopped jumping and deadpanned. "Decaf… you've been having decaf when you were here, right? Luke would kill me—I mean, he wouldn't _really_ kill me…"

"I haven't been having coffee here, Luke fixes me coffee on my breaks and the rest of the time I just have water." Lorelai looked back down at her dress and tried to pull it up again. "Is the dress really that bad?" She asked, a little insecure about her look. "I mean, all I've been wearing are sweaters and slacks and… I wanted to look pretty, you know?"

Sookie tried to do a little bit of math in her head before speaking, just a little thinking. She looked pained, but eventually she said what she was thinking. "You've known for two mon—you're almost four months pregnant?" Lorelai nodded, going over the math a bit in her head. About 13 weeks, based on her doctor's appointment. "You—I mean, you look great! I'd have never guessed…" She remembered she was asked about the dress. "Maybe, maybe add a cardigan or something, or maybe a scarf! Don't—don't listen to Michele, he just… he doesn't like anything, you know that." Lorelai nodded. "How are you feeling? Can I get you anything?"

Lorelai let out a soft laugh. "I'm self-conscious, and tired, and nervous… did I tell you April's coming? Yeah, April's coming up into town to stay with me and Luke. Luke told her about the baby today… and I'm not talking to my parents since they got mad about me and Luke and the baby… but hey, at least I'm not getting sick every waking moment anymore." She sat down on the little stool in the kitchen. "I don't mean to complain, I just—I haven't really talked to anyone about it. I'm really worried about Luke. He got—he got turned down by my parents and now I don't want to tell anyone about the baby till _he's_ ready, but I'm not sure if he ever will be." While she was talking, Sookie went over to the coffee maker and scrambled to find some decaf. Lorelai needed some coffee, that she could tell; she hadn't seen her this down on herself in a good long while.

"Are you worried about Luke or are you worried about April?" Sookie asked, reaching into the cabinet for mugs. _Damn, the coffee can't be made fast enough_ , Sookie thought, watching it drip into the pot. "Because you shouldn't be worrying about April—you've met her before, you planned her birthday party all those years ago! And you're so good with kids. That won't be a problem." Lorelai knew that was true. She wasn't really worried about April coming into town, only that it was earlier than she expected. "And Luke—Luke doesn't like telling anyone anything anyways. The fact that he wanted to tell your parents though! That takes real guts. You should be proud." Lorelai _was_ proud, but that didn't keep her from being nervous about him wanting to tell anyone else. "Give him time, don't worry." After all of that, there was enough decaf in the pot to pour Lorelai a mug. She rushed over to hand it to her. "Don't worry about Luke; don't worry about April. And don't worry about anything here either! Luke will lo-ho-hove that dress though if you show up in the diner wearing that." She gestured down to the dress again, causing Lorelai to giggle. "Take care of yourself, and baby Gilmore there!"

 _Danes,_ Lorelai thought to correct her, but she and Luke hadn't discussed the baby's last name yet. She had to add that to her to-do list. "Just please don't tell Michele yet, okay? Until Luke and I start telling people, I don't want to—" Sookie nodded knowingly. Lorelai put back down the mug and headed out towards her car. "I'm just going to grab my blazer—this dress is a little much for work." She said with a chuckle. "And thank you, for everything."

As soon as Lorelai was gone, Sookie returned to her little song and stirred her sauce on the stove. "Lorelai's having a baby, she's having Luke's baby, Luke and Lorelai's baby, baby, baby, baby…"

 _Author's Note: Please review!_


	7. Sweet Home Stars Hollow

Sweet Home Stars Hollow

It was 3:45 and Luke and Lorelai were already waiting at the airport to pick up April. Everything was a lot simpler at the Dragonfly since Lorelai had told Sookie—she didn't feel like she was living this big secret anymore, with Sookie knowing she felt like she had someone to talk to about it (other than Luke, who had to put up with her wanting to talk about the baby so often; and Rory, who probably knew more than she wanted to about her unborn sibling already). And she took Sookie's advice about showing Luke the dress… his reaction was a simple _wow_ followed by a series of kisses and grins. In the airport, though, Lorelai was back to big sweaters and slacks; much simpler attire than the formal dress. Despite its simplicity, Luke found her just as beautiful in the bulky attire as he had in her revealing dress from a few nights before.

Luke was getting more and more anxious the longer they waited for April. He rubbed his hands together, kept looking at the baggage claim, anything that he could do in order to keep him from looking at his watch. Lorelai grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "She'll be here soon, you know."

And true to her words, before he knew it April was heading down the escalator towards her father. She had a backpack and a duffle with her, but she seemed to pack very light even for just a weekend. Luke ran towards her and gave her a hug, which was oddly reciprocated. Lorelai then received a similarly awkward side-hug from the spectacled teen. "April, you remember Lorelai, don't you?" Luke asked, putting his hand on the girl's shoulder.

In all honesty, she didn't remember her all that well. She was always around Luke's diner, and she was at the birthday party, but she could've been any other brunette just as easily. Every time she came to Stars Hollow over the summer she was there, ever present, always around her father. But she didn't remember her _well._ She nodded "You're dad's fiancée." April recalled. Lorelai looked at Luke, who just shrugged. "Of course, I remember you."

Lorelai clapped her hands together to try and diffuse the awkwardness. "Okay, well, do you have any luggage we need to wait for? My Jeep is in the parking deck, Luke's truck couldn't fit all three of us, and I've got some—we're going to the diner for dinner, right? I don't have a whole lot of food in the house, sweetie, I'm sorry, but you do have a room there…"

April laughed. "It's okay, don't worry. Honestly I'm sure my mom would rather I stay in a room than above the diner." Lorelai let out a sigh, her mind still spinning a little bit. Why was she nervous now? She had been around teenagers before, why was she worrying now? "Dad, can we eat at the diner? I'd love a burger."

"A burger it is." Luke said loudly, leading his girlfriend and daughter out of the airport and towards the Jeep.

The entire ride back, Luke and April chatted. Lorelai had given up the front seat so that Luke could spend more time with his daughter. She still had no idea what to say that wasn't awkward or too much. April was just a teenager, Lorelai knew, and she had a lot of experience with teenagers. What made April different? For starters, she was Luke's kid. Luke's one and only daughter, who was only in town a few times a year, that she helped him gain partial custody of. And up until Luke told her about the baby, she had spent a decent amount of time with April when she came to visit Luke, simply because Luke was almost always working. She thought for a moment that she could blame her inability to talk to the girl on her mother Anna, but she realized that was unfair to April and Luke—if Luke could talk to Rory with Christopher around, she could talk to April with Anna across the country. Maybe it was because of the fact that April still thought she and Luke were engaged, and that Luke didn't try to correct her or explain what was going on (though, in all fairness, _we're engaged and having a baby_ made a lot more sense than _she's newly divorced, we're back together though not formally, I live with her now and we're having a baby_ ). She knew what it boiled down to: she knew how to be a mother, and she knew how to be a friend, but she did not really know how to be a stepmother. And now she wasn't just acting as Luke's friend from the diner for April, she had to step into a stepmotherly role.

"So, Lorelai, dad tells me that you run the Inn in town." April commented, trying to start a conversation with the woman in the backseat. "How did you get into that business?"

Lorelai gulped, trying to find the right words. "I… I had Rory when I was very young, and I got my first job in an Inn. The Independence Inn, actually, it's closed now but that was… I worked my way up from being a maid to a manager, and then I opened my own inn with my best friend Sookie."

April smiled. "That's really cool. And—and how did you meet my dad?" She was trying so hard to get to know her, Luke could tell. But it wasn't easy for either of them—Lorelai didn't want to say anything wrong and April was still learning the art of small talk (outside of the science realm, which was still her specialty). "I mean, what is you guys' story? I know a lot about my mom and dad, but I want to know about the two of you."

 _She's trying so hard_ , Lorelai thought, _why aren't you_? Luke glanced back at her as she tried to remember the story as it happened. _Don't worry, you know how you met. Just keep in natural, act natural…_ "I met your dad at the diner, actually. Rory was eleven and the diner had—well, I had never noticed a diner there before. We had just moved into our house, so I guess it was just the way we had to walk her to school… I was taking Rory out for breakfast before school, and we came in, and I remember he was standing there in that same flannel and baseball cap, and I asked for a cup of coffee. And it was the _best_ cup of coffee. He made Rory some pancakes, and he introduced himself to us and made us feel welcome. And we came back ever since." Lorelai smiled. She hadn't thought about that story in such a long time. Things had changed so much since then.

Luke laughed. "You came in before that, with the horoscope, too!" He remembered, grinning still thinking about it. "Oh, April, she gave me this tacky horoscope—she had scratched out the actual horoscope article, and wrote in that I had to give _an annoying woman_ coffee… it must've been a few weeks before she came in with Rory, but she was alone that time… I'll _never_ forget that."

"You kept it for eight years." Lorelai remembered, smile unwavering.

April looked at Lorelai and then back at Luke. "I still have it. Always." Anyone who saw the two of them, in that moment, would've been able to tell that they were in love. The story may have seemed silly to the two of them, but it was so sweet: Lorelai remembered that he was so good to her daughter, and he remembered that she had a funny way of being remembered. And in that moment, she was just so lucky to have both of them in her life, because in that moment she could tell that the two of them were the happiest people.

"Sweet home Stars Hollow." April said, watching as Luke drove them into town. There was something about this place that made it so quaint and wonderful. Perhaps it was that nothing seemed to change: no matter when April visited, it was always the same. Nothing was ever the same in New Mexico, other than it being hot and dry. Everything was constantly changing; everyone was obsessed with change. But not in Stars Hollow: even Luke, who was stuck in his ways, wasn't so far behind the rest of the town. Luke continued to drive through town and headed towards Lorelai's house. "We're walking to the diner; I take it?"

Luke smiled. "Lorelai and I always walk to the diner. It's so nice out at night." April nodded, thinking about it a little. Of course, in a town like Stars Hollow, it was _safe_ to walk to and from dinner at night. Her mother would kill her if she had mentioned it back home. "It's only a couple blocks, don't worry." He pulled into Lorelai's driveway, and she looked up at the house. It was beautiful: a big two-story house, the kind of house she had in mind when it came to someone's family home. It was well-kept, and she assumed that Lorelai probably kept it well decorated as well (and didn't allow it to stay as bare as Luke's apartment was).

Lorelai rifled through her purse and pulled out a set of house keys, unlocking the front door as Luke led April up the stairs. "Welcome to our humble abode." She said, opening the door to the house. True to her guesses, April walked into a beautifully decorated (though slightly messy) house. She was greeted at the door by Paul Anka. "Oh, yes, and we have the dog! April, this is Paul Anka."

"You're not allergic to dogs are you?" Luke asked, not even thinking about it. Was his daughter allergic to dogs? He had never been in this situation before. April bent down and started scratching Paul Anka behind his ears. He took that as a no. "Well, April, your room is this way, through the kitchen and on your right." He added, carrying her bags and putting them on the bed. "As soon as you're ready to go eat we can head towards the diner."

Soon enough the three of them were walking towards the diner, appearing as happy as their little blended family could be. For April, this was the perfect glimpse of a family life: a mother and a father, a house, a dog… and a baby on the way, completing the perfect image. Since her father's phone call, no one had mentioned the baby at all. Maybe they just wanted her to have a good time and not worry about that, but she was really excited about the idea of having a sibling. When she was in Stars Hollow, everything seemed to be about family, and she absolutely loved that. "So what are the plans for the week?" She asked softly, just trying to make conversation.

"We've got lunch at Liz's—your aunt." Lorelai explained, remembering that April probably didn't know Liz. "Liz and TJ, and your cousin Doula—"

"That's an unfortunate name for a child." April commented.

Luke laughed in agreement. "They're pretty strange folks… you met your other cousin, Jess, he's Doula's brother. Well, half-brother."

"Like me." April noted. "I'll be a half sister to the b—"

"Yeah." Luke cut her off, frantically looking to make sure no one was listening in. He was so paranoid about someone else finding out, someone else judging him the way the Gilmores did… "Then I think we're doing Thanksgiving dinner at the Dragonfly Inn with Lorelai's friend Sookie… she cooks the best food." Lorelai nodded in agreement. "After Sookie's, I don't think we have anything else planned. I have to work Friday and Saturday, maybe you and Lorelai can think of something to do—"

"Shopping, maybe." Lorelai recommended, not sure if that was something April would be into. She didn't know much about April other than that she was miserably bookish (Luke's description) but she did know that she was a teenage girl. "It'll be black Friday, it's the perfect day to go shopping in Hartford." _Hopefully,_ she thought, _we won't run into my mother, who would have some choice words when at last meeting Luke's daughter…_

April shrugged. "That would be fun, yeah. We could pick out some stuff for the nurs—"

"Who wants burgers!" Luke hollered, making sure he was louder than Lorelai and April. He went into the diner to relieve Caesar at the diner; grabbing his apron off the hook, he sat them down at a table by the window. "I'll… I'll have those right out." He said before scooting on to the next table full of customers.

He was very hardworking, April noted. She knew that—when she first came to see him he was serving customers, working in the kitchen, fixing up plates, working the register. That's what happens when people own a business, she supposed, they worked very hard in order to make sure that their business was at its very best. She was learning that Lorelai was also very hardworking, incredibly dedicated to whatever she did. And a part of that dedication transferred to Luke, April could tell, in the fact that he was settling in to a family role. With Lorelai around, he acted like the good old 'family man'.

"Lorelai," April started, looking across the table at his father's girlfriend. "why doesn't dad talk about… y'know." She gestured lightly to the woman's stomach.

Lorelai let out a breath, speaking softly. "He told my parents, and it went _very_ badly." She explained. "He's—if you get him talking about it not in public, he's really happy."

"Good old dad, putting up a good front." April said with a laugh. It was funny to her, she supposed, that Luke and Lorelai could both be so excited and yet also so reserved. A part of her wondered why Luke was so interested in keeping up appearances—based on her understanding, the first time Lorelai found out about her was with the salt shakers at Luke's… no one looked that stunned in meeting someone's illegitimate child for the first time if they knew about them. "You make him really happy, I can tell."

Lorelai couldn't stop smiling at the thought of that. "He makes me happy, too."

Luke came back with two plates of burgers and a smile. "Burgers, Coke for April, coffee for Lorelai." He mouthed decaf and headed back behind the counter. The girls smiled and dug into their dinners.

Thanksgiving at the diner went just like dinner the night before, not to anyone's surprise. Instead of a burger they had turkey with all the fixings in lieu of fries, and everyone in town seemed to flock to Luke's instead of cooking dinner for their families. "It's something of a tradition," Lorelai explained to April as they got ready for this annual occasion. After a heavy lunch at Luke's, he led the two girls up to his apartment so that they could nap until their main Thanksgiving dinner (though only April took him up on the offer, Lorelai had to head into the Dragonfly to calm Sookie down and help prepare the tables.

Once the two adults were clearly out of earshot, April grabbed the phone and dialed her mother's number. "Mom, hey." _April, sweetie, are you alright? Is your father taking care of you? Do you need to—_ "Mom, I'm fine. Dad's fine, everything is fine—better than fine. Happy thanksgiving." _Happy thanksgiving, sweetheart._ April sighed. She had to speak her mind. "Mom, I need to ask you a favor." _Okay…_ "And you have to promise not to get upset with me, okay?" _Sweetie, I'd never be… alright, what's going on._ "I want to spend more time at dad's." April said quickly. Her mom didn't respond, so she continued. "Dad's got a house here, a fiancée, a family, a dog… I don't want to miss anything." Anna always knew this day would come, she supposed, but she didn't imagine it would happen like this. _What do you mean Luke has a family?_ "I have a sister, mom—she's so cool based on what her mom tells me, she went to private school in Hartford, she went to Yale…" _A stepsister, I'm assuming_. Luke would have to have had a child at twenty in order to have a college aged daughter, Anna realized, and though that was not terribly young to have a child, she couldn't imagine Luke… "Yes, mom, stepsister—she's working as a reporter now, but Lorelai said that when Rory comes back in town she could take me to see her alma mater—both alma maters, I think, just in case I wanted to—" _Lorelai—your father's fiancée…_ "You've met her, I think, she planned my birthday party I had at dad's? Well, that's what dad said at least… she's wonderful, mom, you'd love her, and she makes dad really happy." _I'm sure she does._ Anna's words cut a little bit. April wished she could show her mom how happy Luke and Lorelai were together. "You know, soon I'm going to have a little brother? Or sister, I guess, but I really hope I'll have a brother, then I'll have a brother and a sister—" _Your father's girlfriend is pregnant. That's why you want to be there? To watch your father raise someone else's baby?_ "My sibling, mom. I want to see the baby grow up, I want to be a part of his or her life. I like Lorelai, mom, and I like dad being happy with her. They've got a dog, a house, the baby, and I love being a part of their family." April let out a sigh and then continued defiantly. "I want to spend half the year with dad, and half with you. It seems only fair that since I share half of my DNA with each of you that I share half my time as well." _April, you go to school here. You're in high school. You can't up and leave—where would you go to school anyways? You wouldn't… you couldn't…_ "New Mexico isn't the only state with high schools." _I won't let you live with your father and that woman…_ "Then every holiday weekend, every break. I'll ask dad. I want to see him more, and I don't want him to be flying down to New Mexico to see me, leaving behind his baby and his wife…" _His girlfriend, April, his pregnant girlfriend._ "Mom, if you saw how happy he was—how happy she makes him—" _I don't want you around that woman, end of discussion._ "You can't stop me, mom. You lost your custody battle to keep him out of my life, and she's a part of his life now too." _April…_ Anna felt like no matter what she said she was going to lose this fight with her daughter. _I—we can discuss this when you come home. Enjoy time at your father's, have a safe weekend. Let me know when he takes you back to the airport—I'll see you soon, sweetheart._ And Anna hung up.

April sat at the table upstairs, wondering how she could prove to her mother that she was meant to be in Stars Hollow, and how she could visit her perfect blended family more than four times a year.

 _Author's Note: Okay, guys, here is the next installment. I'd really like to know what you guys like/dislike/would like to see happen in this story, so PLEASE REVIEW!_


	8. Talk of the Town

Talk of the Town

It was a Saturday brunch rush like no other. How anyone ate after eating so much the Thursday before Luke would never understand, but he appreciated the business. Lorelai had taken April shopping the day before, and came home with all sorts of things that no one probably needed (though this list of things did include a stuffed elephant for the baby, being the first thing in their incomplete nursery). Today he had her take April to the airport, per April's request. It filled him with joy to see things working out this time with April and Lorelai, though he asked himself why he felt the need to keep the two out of each other's lives for as long as he did. Maybe things would've been perfect, maybe things would've been different, maybe… no, it wasn't worth thinking about. They were all together now, and that made him happy enough.

He didn't often get into his head about the whole situation, and that was probably a good thing. He tried not to worry about his family too much while he was at work, but sometimes it was inevitable. Luke wanted Lorelai to be smart and be safe always, but especially with the baby on the way. She was making great choices, careful not to do anything dangerous in any way, and he knew that she had stopped drinking coffee entirely for his sanity's sake. He knew it was killing her to not tell anyone, and he couldn't really _justify_ keeping it a secret, yet he felt like the more people they told the more people would react like Emily and Richard did.

Why did that effect him so much, he wondered. He had been shot down time and time again by a variety of people, and he was too grumpy to be considered likeable by many. He wasn't a 'people pleaser' in any sense of the word. But he was so hopeful and so happy… he just wanted them to be as happy as he was. Maybe they would've had a different opinion if they had never broken up, if the wedding had happened as planned, if they all lived the life they had hoped they'd live before Rory spent the night in jail and April wandered into his life…

With the bustling diner, he didn't stop to think about it. He was running from table to table carrying plates, settling bills, and wondering why on earth he and Caesar were the only two working on a day as busy as today. "Caesar, I need toast, two eggs scrambled with cheese, and hash browns!" He called to the man in the kitchen. The phone started ringing and he was nowhere near it. "Get the phone!" The phone must've been picked up because it stopped ringing. Luke went to the counter to pick up more plates and started taking them to the respective customers.

"Luke, it's for you!" Caesar screamed from the kitchen, barely peeking his head out the doorway to see his boss.

Luke scoffed. "I got that, they're calling my diner. What's going on?"

"You should probably talk to her yourself!"

"A little busy at the moment." He said, putting plates on tables and grabbing the used ones. He went back into the storage space for another handful of silverware to place on the tables as people came in.

Caesar shrugged and told him what was going on on the phone. "Lorelai wants to know whether or not you can come to her doctor's appointment Monday, and if you wanted her to get some gender-neutral paint for the nursery or if you guys should wait—"

It all happened so fast. One moment Luke, Lorelai, and their family were the only ones that knew about the baby and suddenly the entire diner heard. It went silent. Kirk—the obnoxious blabbermouth that he was—had a dropped jaw. He stood quickly and calmly before running like a mad man into the ice cream parlor next door. Luke watched the whole thing unfurl through the glass window between the establishments. Kirk was yelling, Taylor was trying to get him to calm down and speak normally, and Luke stood there scowling. Taylor hurried from his establishment into Luke's. He didn't say a word, just walked towards the flannel-clad man and tried to wrap him in an incredibly uncomfortable hug. Luke didn't have time to get away before he was in the balding man's arms. "Well it's about darn time." Taylor said into Luke's sleeve. Luke was incredibly uncomfortable, but he liked how supportive the man who ran the town was of him.

 _Why didn't her parents have this kind of reaction_? Luke wondered, in spite of himself. A little support would've gone a long way.

Soon the diner was buzzing with questions. "Are you two happy?" "How far along is she?" "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" "By gum, you and Lorelai." "I never thought this day would come!" "Have you guys told Rory yet?" "Rory's gonna be a big sister!" "What about your girl? Does she know yet?" "Who all knows?" "Is it a boy or a girl?" "I'm placing bets on a boy!" "Each of them already have a daughter." "Can you imagine a little Luke?" "Which one are you hoping for?" "Oh hush, I'm sure he'd be happy with either." "What does Lorelai want?" "Are you two getting married?" "Are you two still together?" "After all these years… wow!" All the questions made Luke's head spin. He took a quick breath and walked outside.

The people of Stars Hollow were overbearing, sure. They talked too much and they knew everyone else's business. But they were supportive—no one could argue that they weren't supportive. Taylor was planning this whole shindig already based on the unexpected announcement—he could tell, just by watching him wave his arms about, gesturing to the gazebo and the town square itself. Luke wasn't prepared for more questions, but he wanted to hear everyone continue with the excitement. If only he could redo telling the Gilmores… maybe things would be different…

Luke went back in and the noise died down a little bit. He continued to bring plates from table to table, but now instead of just getting paid he also got congratulations and a collection of grins. Despite him not wanting to tell anyone, he was really glad they knew. "It takes a village…" Taylor repeated the old adage in his planning, and Luke knew he was right. Whether or not they were supported by her family, they were supported and loved by Stars Hollow, and that was good enough.

Later that day, Lorelai drove back from the airport and pulled into her driveway. Babette and Miss Patty were powerwalking by the house when they hurried down the driveway after the car and towards the woman. Lorelai got out of her car, put on her coat, and turned around to have them standing there waiting for her. "What can I do for you two today?" Lorelai asked, a little confused by their closeness.

"I'm your neighbor!" Babette said, her raspy voice shrill as ever.

Lorelai's eyebrows knit in confusion. "I know that." What was her point.

"I mean, I didn't think anything when Luke came over every night, or when his daughter stayed with you instead of at the diner—" Babette continued, looking at Miss Patty though she was clearly talking to Lorelai. _What on earth_ … "I didn't think anything at all! I didn't even look—how far along are you?"

Lorelai was taken aback. How did she know? "I mean; you're not even showing yet." Miss Patty commented, looking down at Lorelai's coat-covered stomach. "Either that or you've got a flattering wardrobe."

"How—how did you know?" Lorelai asked, still a little confused.

"I mean—really—we're supposed to know everything going on around here! I'm your neighbor, you're supposed to tell me these things! This is _big_ news!" Babette squealed again. "It's a shame we had to hear about it from Kirk—we didn't even hear it from any of the town gossips, we heard it from Kirk!"

"And that's really a shame, dear." Patty touched Lorelai's arm, seeming supportive even though her statement didn't sound supportive at all. Lorelai was just so confused. How did they know? How did _Kirk_ know? Was it that obvious? Was it something that she said, or April said? Did Luke know that everyone knew? Oh goodness, he must've been freaking out. "Lorelai, you should probably get inside. It's freezing out here!"

Lorelai nodded slowly. "Yes…" Well, since the two women knew and she had so many questions… "Do you two want to come in?" The two women looked to one another and then nodded. Lorelai fiddled with her keys and went up onto the porch, the two older women behind her teetering and smiling. She had so many questions, and these two women seemed to have the answers she was looking for.

"Ah, sugar, I'm so happy for you two!" Babette gave her a hug as she walked into the door. Miss Patty walked in past the two of them. Lorelai took off her coat, revealing what might've been the world's smallest baby bump under her dress. It was small, but it was there. She had noticed it when she went shopping with April. The two women ogled a little bit at the sight. It was true—the rumors that they heard were true. They looked at one another and then back at Lorelai lovingly.

Miss Patty let out a sigh, putting her hand on her cheek. "My goodness, you're glowing."

Lorelai was still so confused. "How did—how did Kirk find out? How did _you_ two find out?" She knew they would eventually, sure, but this was certainly not eventually. _Luke must be freaking out_ , she thought, letting go of her own panic for one moment.

"I dunno, all of the sudden Kirk came out of Luke's screaming _baby Gilmore coming soon, baby Danes coming soon!_ " Babette gave her best Kirk impersonation while yelling. Lorelai covered her mouth. "I don't think he could decide what name to use—have you guys decided it?"

All Lorelai could think was _oh my god_. She picked up the phone off of the side table and called the diner. "Do you know?" She said, not even starting with hello. _Damn Caesar,_ she heard Luke's voice from the other line. Now that made sense. "Are you okay?" She was just highly concerned. _They're… they're just so happy. And I'm so happy… it doesn't matter now. Everyone's happy, right? Are you happy?_ "I'm… a little shocked." She said with a small chuckle. "And I'm imagining we're waiting to paint, aren't we?" She said, trying to change the subject. Hearing him happy was good enough for her. She heard him laugh on the other line. "Are you sure you're alright?" _We can't take it back now._ Luke said with a chuckle. He realized that didn't answer her question so he tried again. _I'm okay. They're excited, and I'm excited they're excited. They're gonna be a pain in the ass—but it's because they care._ She sighed. That's all he wanted: he wanted people to care. "They care so much."' She said, looking quickly at Babette and Patty. "Well, I'll let you get back to work. I'll be going in to the Dragonfly around 2 o'clock… I'll see you for dinner. Love you!" _Love you too, see you for dinner._ She smiled, hanging up the phone and letting him return to work. The ladies watched her with nosey grins. She put the phone down and sat on the couch between the two ladies.

They continued to ask Lorelai questions, and she answered them as quickly as she could. "13 weeks, and we haven't discussed what our child's name will be—first or last. I think he should be a Danes though."

"He?" Patty smiled, thinking of a little Luke Danes running about.

"Kirk didn't mention it was a boy!" Babette shrieked.

For the first time, Lorelai admitted that she wanted a son. "We don't know yet, I just… have a feeling." Lorelai smiled, thinking for a moment. They each had daughters, and the each loved each other's daughters just as much as they loved their own. But a boy—neither of them had sons. She sometimes thought of Luke with a little boy: taking him fishing, or camping… the little boy taking over the diner when he was old enough to, or being a clerk at the Dragonfly if he wanted to. When she thought about the baby, she always thought about them having a son. "We'd be happy with either one, I know, but a boy—it would be nice to have a boy."

"What does Luke want?" Patty asked, still imagining a miniaturized Luke. Little flannels, little hats, a little bad attitude…

Lorelai shrugged. "I know we'll be happy, so long as the baby is healthy and happy and everything is okay." She didn't want to admit it, but she was worried about the baby. The two women smiled, still so excited about the thought of a new baby.

 _Author's Note: I hope you guys are enjoying the story. Please review! I want to know what you think should happen next._


	9. Babysitting

Babysitting

After spending the rest of the thanksgiving weekend talking to everyone in Stars Hollow within earshot of the diner, Luke and Lorelai both found themselves in the obstetrician's office waiting for the first official doctor's appointment. It was a little late scheduled, she knew, but it was the best timing they could manage. They waited for what felt like forever to see the doctor, and Luke got nervous the longer they waited. He hated hospitals so much, and the situation didn't make it any easier. He had been trying not to think about anything that could go wrong, anything bad that could happen…

They called for Lorelai and he followed pretty quickly, being shaken out of his thoughts. If Lorelai wasn't worried, he shouldn't be worried… right? He held her hand and waited for the doctor to come in, to do whatever needed to be done at this appointment.

The doctor came in; white-coat clad with a big smile. "Hi, I'm Doctor Perry." She said, looking at the folder in her hand. "Lorelai Gilmore, yes?" Lorelai nodded. "And you must be the father."

"Luke." He said, holding out his hand for her to shake. She took it. He felt his nerves slowly subside.

The doctor looked back down at the chart, and then back to Lorelai. "You said you were fourteen weeks along, yes?" She referred to the chart.

"Give or take, yes." Lorelai answered. Most mothers would've come in sooner, she knew, and she hoped that the doctor wouldn't comment on it. Before the doctor could open her mouth, Lorelai continued. "We would've come in sooner, you know, but we both work and our schedules don't really line up—we both wanted to be here, so… here we are now." She let out a chuckle to hopefully lighten the mood.

Doctor Perry looked at her, her face still stone. "Well, you know you will have to lighten your workload with baby around." Lorelai nodded. "Let's see: quick questions. Have you two had children before?"

"Baby number two." Lorelai answered.

"And how old is the first?"

Luke and Lorelai both answered as it was true to them, simultaneously. "23." "14."

The doctor looked back down at her chart, scribbling a few note. "So second for both of you, first together. Yes?" They both nodded. "Do either of you have questions for me before we get started?"

Luke and Lorelai looked at one another. Luke didn't want to ask the question on his mind, but he was sure Lorelai was a little worried too. "What's the risk factor of something—something going wrong?" Lorelai asked. "I'm not as young as I was when I had my daughter, and he's not either."

"That's a valid concern, age can be a major worry when it comes to the baby." Doctor Perry nodded, holding her file close to her. "We can run tests for genetic disorders, anything that could be concerning if you'd like to down the line, but in the meantime I'd say let's focus on the ultrasound. I got your bloodwork from your other doctor, and you're a very healthy individual." Luke almost scoffed, thinking of Lorelai Gilmore as _healthy_. She lived off of a diet of junk food and coffee, there was no way that was _healthy_. He got a smirk from Lorelai. "Are you two ready to see your baby for the first time?" The two of them nodded, nearly giddy. Lorelai lifted the top of her sweater, wincing as the cold ultrasound gel was wiped on her stomach. Doctor Perry wiggled the wand around a little bit before the image of a tiny fetus floating on the screen. Lorelai gasped, seeing their child for the first time. Luke squeezed her hand, grin growing. "Congratulations to you both, looks like baby will be here around the end of May."

 _Baby Danes in May_ , Lorelai thought, thinking of the wonderful rhyme and the truth behind it.

The rest of the day went by and they were both so happy: the baby was healthy, everything was alright, and now they knew when to expect their little bundle of joy to be here. On the ride home, Luke had made a list of everything they were going to need, or at least everything he could think of. "We can't put off getting these things." He reminded her, holding a page of bulleted items up so that she could see it vaguely. "These were some of the things you should've gotten with April, too, while you were there… things beyond a stuffed elephant." He mentioned, not meaning it as a jab. Looking at everything on the list, he started to worry about money, and then budgeting… his mind was spinning but he couldn't let it worry him. Everything was going to be alright, he knew, he had money saved—he had prepared for something like this, more or less. (Actually, originally he planned for a _wedding_ and a _house_ , but setting up a nursery was less expensive than a wedding by a landslide).

When Luke got back to the diner, Liz was there waiting for him with little Doula in tow. She leaned against the counter, gently nudging Doula's stroller with her foot in order to keep her moving. "Hey, big brother!" Liz called in a whisper, trying not to wake the baby.

He walked back behind the counter, grabbing an order pad and tucking his to-do list in his pocket. "What'll it be today, Liz?"

"Oh, um, just a cup of coffee I guess. I came here to congratulate you." She said softly, leaning back over the counter as if telling him a secret. "For you and Lorelai, I mean. Heard it through the grapevine… you should've told me, big brother! Doula's gonna have a little cousin." _And Jess, too,_ Luke thought, remembering his often-forgotten nephew with fondness.

Luke cleared his throat. "Yeah. Um, you know, I was going to tell you but it's been so…"

"Don't make excuses." She said as he turned around and poured her a cup of coffee. "I just wish you would've told me, big brother, you used to tell me everything. I'm so excited for you two though!" As she took a sip she stopped rocking Doula, who then let out a whimper. "Doula, do you wanna go to your uncle Lukie?" She said in a baby voice, putting down her coffee to pick up the baby. She offered him to Luke, who looked at her like she was nuts. "Oh, come on, big brother. You're about to have one of your own soon."

He took his niece in his arms and bounced her a little. Liz continued to drink her coffee. More people came into the diner and started barking orders for him to fill. While still carrying the little girl, he jotted down the orders as best he could and gave them to Caesar.

Liz just watched him in amazement. "You're so good with her, big brother." She said, watching him with a grin. "Could you—do you think that you could babysit Wednesday night? You and Lorelai I mean." She knew that in the past he would've said no, but maybe with a baby on the way his mind would change.

His mouth twisted before resetting. The thought of having some practice with a baby wouldn't be bad for either of them: it had been so long since Lorelai had a baby and he had never really been around them (primarily because when it came to other people's babies, he had very strong opinions against them). Maybe it wouldn't be too bad for them to just 'play house' for a little while, have a trial run at being a family—mother, father, baby—before they had their own. "Sure." He said. "Wednesday night it is."

Liz smiled, clapping her hands together before taking her baby back and putting her in her stroller. She dropped some money on the counter and rushed out of the diner.

Meanwhile at the inn, Lorelai was walking around the kitchen following Sookie. She was dripping sauces all over every dish that probably needed a sauce, and Lorelai was just trying to tell her about the rest of the weekend with April and her doctor's appointment. "It's awkward, you know, with Luke and his daughter, and me as a stepmom, you know? I've never been a—" Sookie ran back around the island and Lorelai tried to follow. "—but it worked out pretty well. She and I went shopping and we got this cute little—" Sookie slammed a pan on the counter, splashing sauce drippings as she picked up a bowl of vinaigrette. "—for the baby. We need to set up the nursery upstairs, and Luke said that that was not a good place to—" Lorelai gave up and sat down on a stool, just watching Sookie scramble. "The doctor said I was healthy, the baby was fine, and due in May."

Sookie was eventually done dressing all of her dishes and stopped running about. "May, that's…"

"Five months away." Lorelai said, knowing that December was just going to fly right on by just like November did. It wasn't until she said it that she realized what a short amount of time that really was. No wonder Luke's head was spinning: they had to baby-proof the house, set up the nursery, clean, figure out work schedules and childcare and… it was enough for her to go bananas, much less someone as organized and orderly as Luke. Everything was flashing in to-do lists like he waved in front of her earlier, Doctor Perry's file, and all the books in the Dragonfly Inn. There was so much left to do, and yet she was sitting in the kitchen with Sookie, talking. "Gosh, that's… that's soon." She said, still very much in her own head.

Sookie tried to get her to calm down a little bit. "You're okay! If anyone is ready for something like this, it's you and Luke. You know that."

"What makes you say that?" Lorelai asked, very curious. She nor Luke really talked too much about kids even when they were engaged, until April came up and the conversation changed drastically. The conversation never went beyond the fact that the two of them would like to have children… someday. Suddenly someday had a date, and it worried her a little bit. _It's too early to be worrying like this_ , Lorelai reminded herself.

What could Sookie say that would make her calm down? "You and Luke—you and Luke are successful people, who love each other very much, and now you guys are ready to share that success and love with someone—" _No_ , thought the chef, _that wasn't enough to calm her down_. "I'll prove it. How about you and Luke babysit Wednesday? Davey, Martha, and Olivia… or just Olivia if you just want practice with a baby. It's up to you. You'd be doing a real favor to me and Jackson if you took all three, and you'd be so great with all three. What do you say to a little practice?"

"Practice," Lorelai repeated, thinking of time with Sookie and Jackson's three little ones. Davey and Martha were now both walking, and Olivia wasn't even six months old yet. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad… "I think practice is smart. Yeah, Luke and I could use some practice."

Wednesday rolled around and Luke and Lorelai were both home from work that night. Luke was cooking up some dinner for the two of them while Lorelai changed out of her business clothes and into a t-shirt and athletic pants (more comfortable and easier for her to chase the children around in). The doorbell rang and Lorelai called from the top of the stairs as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "Luke, Sookie's here!"

"Why would Sookie be here?" He shouted back loudly. "Liz is coming!"

"We're babysitting Sookie's kids, I put it on a sticky note on the fridge this morning!" She yelled again, running down the stairs and towards the door.

He turned around to see, true enough, a sticky note that said _watching Davey, Martha, and Olivia from 6-10_. "I also told Liz that we'd watch Doula!"

Lorelai's eyes widened. Four children under school age? _Four in four_ , she just kept thinking, remembering how much she winced and writhed when Sookie used that phrase the first time. Now it was going to be the case with them watching all these children. She rested her hand on her stomach and took a deep breath before opening the door. Both Sookie and Liz were there with all the children. "Hey!" She said, her voice suddenly chipper. "Come on in."

"Lorelai," Sookie started, feeling a little guilty seeing her two little ones go charging into the house and the two babies still in their mother's arms (well, technically. Sookie had Olivia in a carrier and Liz was just carrying Doula). "if you want me to take the kids back I'll understand…"

Lorelai shook her head. "Sookie, it's fine. Enjoy your evening. Luke and I have this under control, right?"

"We got burgers and smiley face fries for the kids!" Luke called from the kitchen. Lorelai gestured back to him before taking Doula out of Liz's arms. The little girl just cooed a little at her technical aunt.

Liz patted Lorelai's arm. "Thank you again for watching her for a little bit, TJ and I can now actually have a date night." She sighed. Lorelai knew exactly what it was like to try and date with a newborn… it must've been different not being a teenager and also being married, but she still understood how hard it was to leave the baby behind. "You and Luke will ask to return the favor soon enough I'm sure." Lorelai nodded, trying not to think too hard about what they would do after the baby came. _One day at a time_ , she told herself. "Bye, big brother! Bye, Lorelai." Liz called before heading out.

Sookie waited a little longer before leaving. "Okay, so Olivia isn't too fussy, she'll probably sleep the entire time. She loves being in her carrier—unlike Davey and Martha, I guess she's the most easygoing out of all of them. There's a bottle in Davey's bag if she needs it—take that out of his bag, please, or he'll spill it… Martha has her dolly with her, she cries when Davey tries to take it. Davey has a bunch of toy cars in his little backpack—just make sure he packs them all back up before he leaves, or he'll throw a fit tomorrow when he goes through them again. Oh, and—" She saw Lorelai smirking at her. "I know, I know. You've got this. I should go…" Lorelai nodded. The chef didn't move. Luke came out of the kitchen with a towel over his shoulder. "I should go. Right. Bye, kids! Thank you again." And without another word, Sookie left.

It seemed funny, but it wasn't as bad as they had imagined having the four children there. True to Sookie's word, Olivia was still too little to be awake very long. She woke up a little and Luke gave her a bottle and got her back to sleep. Lorelai focused her energy primarily on the older two—making sure they ate their dinner, played nicely, and eventually curled up on the couch and fell asleep watching _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_ with their "Auntie Lorelai" and "Mr. Luke". With two babies and two toddlers, they felt exhausted but not fully overwhelmed… Lorelai realized it was much different watching children when there were two adults instead of just her as a teen mom. She relaxed a little more, sinking into the couch. What a sight it must've been: Lorelai with Davey on her right and Martha on her left, each slumped over on the couch and Davey's sleepy head in her lap, Doula in her arms with her head on Lorelai's shoulder, and Luke cradling sleeping Olivia and watching Lorelai instead of the movie.

"This isn't bad." Lorelai stated, grinning at him. The four children all tuckered out, lounging on the couch all together like a family. Could she ever imagine herself having four children, having a real six-person family on the couch? No, never. It was enough just to have her and Luke there, and a baby made three, and that was better than she could imagine. If she thought about it, though, when Rory and April were there they would have a family of five instead of six… maybe it wouldn't be as precious as having sleeping toddlers and infants and Oompah Loompahs on the television, but it was theirs and it was real.

Luke nodded. "I like this." He whispered honestly. "You, me, kids… we must be doing something right." He put down the bottle and wrapped his arm around the back of the couch and Lorelai, careful not to scoot too close to sleeping Davey. He lifted the little boy up a little so that his feet weren't sprawled all the way across the couch and they could all sit a little closer together.

They looked back at one another and then at the children surrounding them, imagining what it would be like with their little one. Yeah, they were definitely doing something right.

 _Author's Note: please review! I'd love to know what you all want to see next or what you like about the story._


	10. Yours and Mine

Yours and Mine

Christmas was coming up soon. The first snowfall came and everything continued to fly by. There were little things that started to change around the Gilmore house: the new "nursery" was now emptied of all of the junk that was in there before and a plan was made for the room, Lorelai was now showing a little bit, and she and Luke were working on their schedules to make sure that they'd have plenty of time at home to spend with each other and also with the baby when he or she came. It felt like ages till May at the moment, but with the way time was flying, Lorelai knew that five months was going to go by in the blink of an eye.

Day by day, the little changes to Lorelai's figure started to add up, and she was noticeably pregnant. With every little change, she asked Luke the question, "How do I look?" which he always answered honestly. To him, no matter what, she was always beautiful. This became a daily part of their routine, before they headed to wherever they needed to go for the day.

At eighteen weeks, Lorelai and Luke had their gender-revealing ultrasound. They waited with anticipation until Doctor Perry said, with great confidence, "Congratulations, it's a girl."

 _A little girl_ , Lorelai thought. She was so certain it was a boy, partially because she had hoped it was a boy. She could've imagined Luke taking a son fishing. But a daughter could be taken fishing just as easily, and that daughter could learn about the diner _or_ the inn, and she was going to be beautiful and loved. Knowing it was a girl just made it more concrete: they had their little baby, a little daughter, and she couldn't wait to meet her. Luke was excited it was a little girl—the girls in his life (Lorelai, April, his sister, and Rory) already meant so much to him, and he couldn't wait to add this one to the mix.

"Baby Danes is now officially Baby Girl Danes!" Lorelai told Sookie, excited now that she knew what they were having. Now Luke was ready for them to decorate the nursery, paint the walls, get the crib… all the things they had been putting off until that very moment.

Sookie grinned. "Aw, you and Luke with your three girls!" It was the perfect blended family, Lorelai realized: three daughters and the two of them. Rory and April did look eerily similar, close enough that they could appear like biological siblings (Rory looked more like her technical "stepsister" than she did her half sister, GiGi, which was a little odd). Their baby girl would fit right in... she would complete the picture. "Have you two thought of a name?"

"A little, yeah." It was what they had done their entire car ride back from the doctor's office, discussed names. There were names tossed out, family names—Lorelai and Emily were both shot down. Three Lorelais in one family line, living in the same house, would be far too many), as was soon Elizabeth from Luke's side—but they did feel a particular attachment to the name of his mother: Camille. Of course, Camille Danes had already been on this planet once, and so they decided that Camille would be their little girl's middle name. The first name was still up for discussion.

The day went on, both Luke and Lorelai over the moon sharing the news of their little girl with anyone who asked. Luke smiled so much that Taylor was a bit concerned that the grumpy man had suffered a stroke or something of the like. But it was nothing like that. His daughter was coming back from New Mexico soon, Rory was planning on coming home for a few days, and he now had another daughter that would meet him in May. Nothing could've made him happier.

When Lorelai got back from the Dragonfly, she immediately grabbed one of the cookbooks that Luke now kept in the kitchen cabinet. Since Luke had moved in, her kitchen was no longer bare: the boxes of food had almost all been replaced with ingredients, the fridge included more than bottled beverages, and there were significantly more cooking tools. Of course she had to call Sookie to know what a few of them were, but she was determined she was going to use a few of them, and cook something simple. She grabbed Luke's apron off of the hook by the kitchen door, tied it over her little stomach, and started to take the ingredients listed in the book out of the cabinets.

A car pulled up into the driveway. Lorelai didn't notice, she was far too busy rolling out her dough (which was tougher than Sookie made it look, she realized) and cutting it out into circles (using the only thing that resembled a cookie cutter in her kitchen: a sandwich crust-cutter). The door of the car opened and shut, and a suitcase rolled up the driveway. Lorelai was too focused on her work to notice until the doorknob turned.

The house smelled delicious. The smell of freshly baked sugar cookies filled your nose as soon as you walked in the door. The young woman standing in the doorway almost wondered if she had walked into the wrong house. _There are now two people that live here_ , she thought for a moment, imagining maybe the house smelled this nice because of something Luke made… no, the diner never even smelled quite like this. There was only one reasonable explanation. "Sookie? Sookie, is mom home?" The young woman called, removing her hat and starting to unbutton her coat. Her suitcase was wheeled in in front of her and she proceeded to shut the door with her shoe. There was no answer. She started towards the kitchen only to find Lorelai: her face speckled with flour, white handprints smeared on the apron, her curls tied back, baby bump framed by the apron strings. "Mom?"

Lorelai looked up from her work to see Rory standing in the doorway. "Rory!" She squealed, throwing her rolling pin down with a thud and charging towards her daughter. She wrapped the young woman in a hug, holding on tight, hoping not to let go anytime soon. "You came home early, why didn't you tell me you were coming home early?" Lorelai had missed her daughter so much. The weekly phone calls and relatively regular emails were not enough.

Rory pulled back from the hug as soon as Lorelai let her. All around the kitchen were stacks of sugar cookies, and there was a cookie sheet on the eye of the stove, still covered in cookies. The little bit of dough on the counter was already cut into circles, the table floured. _Oh, what a sight_. "Mom, you're…"

"Really pregnant, yeah." Lorelai joked.

"Baking." Rory corrected her.

Lorelai picked up the rolling pin and took the cookies off of the pan, letting them cool on the counter. "Luke had no desserts at the diner—nothing seasonable at least. So I found this recipe for sugar cookies—like the ones we buy and decorate every Christmas, only these are homemade—for him to sell at the diner. You know, something little from the two of us to the citizens of Stars Hollow."

Rory picked one up off the counter, taking a bite. Much to her surprise, they were really good (considering Lorelai hated cooking and they lived off of takeout Rory's entire childhood, learning that her mother could actually make good food was a wonderful surprise). "I'm sure everyone will love them."

"Oh! And April is coming into town tomorrow, I'm picking her up from the airport… you two could maybe decorate the cookies? It'll be an updated family tradition. I know we used to do that, just the two of us, and last Christmas GiGi came and did the same… I just want this to be special, you know?"

 _Wow, what a whirlwind year_ , Rory realized. To think that last Christmas she spent with her half-sister, father and mother—who were, at the time, married—and now she was spending it with Luke, Luke's daughter, her pregnant mother… times had changed. "What about grandma and grandpa? Will they be joining us for Christmas?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "If hell freezes over."

"Why? What happened?" Rory hadn't seen her grandparents since June. She missed them—she often forgot to call, but she tried when she remembered. She sent occasional post cards so that they could stay updated with where she was, but she hadn't spoken to them since summer ended.

Lorelai knew she was going to have a hard time explaining to Rory that, once again, she and her parents weren't speaking. "Your grandparents got very upset with Luke when we told them about the baby. They made comments about April, and marriage, and then started reminding me that I've been here before and that—I just don't want to bring another girl into that environment."

"Girl?" Rory repeated. "I—I have a sister?" Lorelai nodded. "Wow, you and Luke and a little girl—"

Lorelai skirted back around the table, giving her daughter one more hug. "And our girl's wonderful big sisters." She kissed her daughter on the forehead. "I've missed you, kid."

"It's good to be back." Rory responded, before helping her mother put the next batch of cookies in the oven.

Lorelai and Rory went to the airport to pick up April, just as Luke had planned. The two girls got along quite well, just talking about what it was exactly each of them were doing—Rory talked about being on the road as a reporter, April talked about what she was reading and the college tours she was planning on taking. Compared to the two in the back, Lorelai felt ridiculously stupid. A third brainy child in her life and she may go batty. _No one can take over the "family businesses" if they're all doctors, lawyers, or reporters_ , Lorelai thought, trying not to laugh.

When Luke got off work, he came through the kitchen door to find Lorelai, Rory, and April sitting at the kitchen table, piping icing onto cookies and throwing sprinkles on them as well. "We're making Christmas cookies to sell at the diner." Lorelai explained as he leaned over her shoulder, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Just something little we can do to help you out, hon." He smiled. He proceeded to go to each of the girls at the table and give them a hug as well (awkward as they were, Rory noted, they displayed that he really did love everyone in that room).

"Where would I be without my girls?" He commented, sitting at the fourth chair at the table.

It was still baffling to Rory. This was Luke, after all. Luke who hated the concept of marriage. Luke, the disgruntled man who never seemed to truly commit to anyone wholeheartedly, who was too afraid of rejection to pursue someone that he liked. Luke who hated children. Luke who hated… well, just about everything. Yet here he was: sitting at a table with his teenage daughter, her, and her mother. And then there was also her mother: the woman who could never be tied down, the woman who made spontaneous decisions, the woman who made her daughter her entire world and left no room for anyone else to enter, the woman who put her career and child before anything else, who made impulsive decision, and was living on a latte and a prayer. There was a single bag of decaf coffee in the pantry, and all the mugs were clean. There were groceries in the fridge. Her mother _cooked_. They were the perfect family, whether they were related by blood or not. _If only grandma could see us now…_

That night, after Lorelai and Luke went upstairs, and April had fallen asleep on the trundle in the room she and Rory shared, the younger Gilmore grabbed her coat and jumped in her car. It was late, sure. But this was a drive she had to take, and it couldn't wait until the morning. Light flurries filled the sky as she drove for what felt like the first time in a long time. She knew this route like the back of her hand: it was supposed to take thirty minutes, but she could get there in twenty if she tried (and she was trying). She pulled effortlessly into the roundabout driveway, put the car in park, and started rapping on the door. It took a few minutes before the old woman in the silky robe answered the door. "Rory, it's the middle of the night!" The woman barked, still pleased to see her granddaughter. It had been far too long. "Come in, you'll catch your death…"

"I'm going to stay out here." Rory said, stuffing her hands into her coat pockets.

Emily was taken aback. "Well what brings you out to Hartford at this hour?"

Rory caught her breath and said what she had been telling herself in the car her entire drive up. "I know you're mad at mom." _Good start_ , Rory told herself, hoping she could make it through the rest of it. Emily rolled her eyes. "But you're mad at mom for something that isn't her fault—it's no one's fault. Mom and Luke are happy, they are _so_ happy, and it kills me that you can't be happy for them. She's not the same as she was when I was born—and you can blame _me_ all you want for mom not doing all those things you had planned for her to do, but she can't change that, and given the chance I'm not sure she would. You can't blame mom for having me, and keeping me, and you can't blame her for being happy now." Tears welled in Rory's eyes. "Do _you_ resent _me_?"

"Why, no, I—" Emily came towards the young woman, trying to offer her a hug.

The hug was rejected. "Because in turning mom away, you taught me that it was _my_ fault. That _I_ was the reason she wasted all her potential, that _I_ was the reason you two didn't get along, that _I_ was the reason mom was never happy when she talked about her mom. It took sixteen years for me to learn that that wasn't the case—I spent sixteen years asking myself why my mom didn't resent me the way you did!"

"I—I—" Emily was speechless.

Rory continued. "Now she's with Luke, and you should see how happy she is. Even when she married Christopher—" Rory didn't call him _dad_ in this situation, because he hadn't behaved very fatherly to her since the divorce. "—what you and grandpa swore up and down was best for her, she wasn't this happy. Their past doesn't matter, what matters is here and now, and everything they have planned for the future. Their baby is going to be so loved, by them and by me and by his daughter—no, my _sister_ , April. Luke was _always_ there, and he'll _always_ be there. And if you can't be happy for them, fine, but I just hope that you don't wait sixteen years to be a part of your other granddaughter's life."

Rory's words cut Emily down to the core. There was nothing in the world that she loved more than Rory, there was no arguing that. Her life had a different purpose when Rory was in it. To think that her _granddaughter_ , someone who truly lit up her life, believed that she resented her… it was difficult for her to take in. Rory always kept her temper under control, and Emily had only seen her upset a few times. She had never heard her truly _scream_ , much less in absolute hysterics, sobbing uncontrollably. There were parts of the story Rory didn't know, parts of the story she couldn't tell her. Parts of the story that had nothing to do with Luke or Luke's daughter or really even Lorelai. And Luke, well… she didn't like Luke, and she didn't think she ever would. She thought Lorelai could do better… but to hear Rory call his daughter her sister, well that meant something. All she could do was mutter the three little words that resonated with her the most. "My _other_ granddaughter?"

"Before you decide you don't like your daughter's family…" Rory started off the porch, backing up with this last little bit of advice. "…remember _you're_ her family too. Goodbye, grandma."

 _Author's Note: wow, a whirlwind ending. What will happen next? Please review, if you're reading this. Honestly hearing back from you guys makes my day, and I'd love to know where you think this story is heading. Review please!_


	11. All That Glitters

All That Glitters

Three days before Christmas, and Luke still hadn't figured out what to get Lorelai. Actually, he knew what he _wanted_ to get her, but he hadn't thought of how to actually go about it. He wanted to make things right by the Gilmores when it came to their relationship. He wanted to make her his wife, despite the fact that it didn't work before. Just seeing how their family worked, how she was with Rory and April together, how their family was finally coming together and the baby made five. But how to go about that…

Rory sat at the table, just catching up on a good book. April was still in the room, most likely still asleep. Most people weren't up this early: usually Luke was long awake before Lorelai, and therefore had a little bit of silence in the house before work. But Rory was awake. A cup of coffee sat in front of the young woman. Luke joined her at the table. "It's early." He commented. "Shouldn't you still be asleep?"

"I'm used to earlier." Rory said with a shrug. "Writing and travelling requires early hours."

"Same with cooking burgers." Luke said before edging to the other side of the table. "May I—"

Rory nodded. "And there's coffee in the pot, if you want some." He just sat there, his hands folded. She could tell that something was on his mind, she just didn't know what. "Is everything okay?"

He pursed his lips and nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine, I just—" She raised an eyebrow. In that moment she looked so much like Lorelai: so knowledgeable, so… she was able to see right through him. "—I need help buying a gift for your mom."

"You haven't bought anything for mom yet?" Rory asked, faking surprise. Luke did not catch that she was teasing him.

He shrugged. "I'm not really the best… gift giver."

"You? Never." She giggled.

 _Then_ he caught that she was kidding. "I—I want to get her something really special, a ring, and no one knows her as well as you do, so…"

"What time can you leave the diner?" She asked, knowing he wasn't very fond of taking any time off work. But based on what her mother told her, he would do anything for her or the baby. He was growing accustom to taking a little bit of time away from his establishment. "We could do noon-ish—you, me and April. Make a day of it, get lunch in the food court. How does that sound?"

He just nodded. It sounded perfect—almost too perfect. An afternoon with his daughter and his girlfriend's kid, picking out a ring for her mother? "You—you know what your mom would want? Because this isn't—this isn't something I can do _wrong_ …"

Rory looked at the ceiling for a moment, processing his words. "You mean an _engagement_ ring." She whispered. He gulped. "Well that is no small feat." Luke waited for her to say something along the lines of _no, I can't believe you want to marry my mother_ or _seriously, Luke, why would you do that_? But she didn't. "Luckily for you, I've picked one before. For mom, even." Rory almost let out a giggle, thinking of the other times her mother had been engaged. Her engagement to Max was short-lived, yes, but not without good reason—they weren't meant to last. And she had been engaged to Luke before, too… why he didn't want to use that ring again she had a pretty good feeling about… that didn't end too well. But now everything was simpler. It seemed right.

"Well, let April sleep in. I'll see you both at noon, at the diner. You can get her up and ready without your mom noticing?" Rory nodded, smirking a little. "I mean, she has to be at work by nine—that was a stupid—anyways, I've got to—"

Luke started to the door, still stammering a little bit. "Hey, Luke?" She called softly, causing him to spin and look back at her. The stammering ceased. "You and mom—you have my blessing." Rory knew he didn't need it: usually you asked for the blessing to ask for someone's hand in marriage from their father. But Rory wanted to offer it, as it was her mother and her best friend in the whole world. He smiled and started out the door.

True to her word, Rory got April ready and got both of them out of the house by noon. Lorelai had very briefly, before leaving, chatted with her daughter about her plans for the day. "You know; I'm going to take April into Hartford I think. Show her the town, maybe take her shopping… she hasn't gotten anything for her mom yet, and she wants to mail it before Christmas if she can." Lorelai nodded upon hearing that plan, buttoned her coat, grabbed a travel cup of coffee, kissed her daughter on the forehead, and headed out to work. Shortly after, Rory and April headed to the diner to pick up Luke, and then the three of them headed to the mall.

As soon as they stepped into the jewelry store, Luke was overwhelmed. Though Rory had guaranteed she knew what her mom wanted, just looking at all the rings made him nervous. "White gold, solitaire. Princess cut would be nice. Nothing too ostentatious." Rory cautioned. "Something simple, something that matches everything." It seemed like simple advice, yes. But then he started looking at the prices. Why were rings so expensive? Funneling money into the nursery was expensive enough, but looking at the rings… anyone who bought their fiancée a big diamond was _loaded_. He then realized what a steal he had gotten buying a ring from Kirk…

"Dad, what about this one?" April asked, pointing to a ring in the case.

It was perfect. White gold and simple with a marquise cut diamond and smaller diamonds around the band. It was understated but stunning. He imagined proposing to Lorelai with this ring, and the reaction she would have. He saw it all playing out. It was perfect. "Mom'll love it." Rory whispered, grinning from ear to ear.

Then it was simple: that was the ring he wanted to get for her.

The three of them shopped around a little longer. Rory wasn't lying when she said that April needed to get something for Anna. She bought her something simple: a cross-stitch pillow that had some super cliché quote about home on it. "I want to get something for Lorelai, too!" April insisted, looking around for something that just screamed _Lorelai_. "Is there something else I should call her? You know, once you two are married? I mean—mom would be mad if I started calling her _mom_ , but—"

"Just call her Lorelai." Rory insisted. "I still do it sometimes, and I'm her kid." Luke nodded. The question caught him off-guard. Once April was out of earshot, Rory whispered to Luke. "You've always been a dad to me, but I think I'm still gonna stick with calling you Luke. That's fine, right?" He gave her a thumbs-up.

Meanwhile at the Dragonfly, Lorelai was bustling around making preparations for their Christmas guests. Sookie had made maple snowflakes, Michele was in his usual Christmas spirit (which was unpleasant, but no less unpleasant than usual). Lorelai was just so excited for everything going on. There was snow on the ground, her daughter and Luke's daughter were both out shopping in Hartford, and soon they would spend their first Christmas together as a full family. The idea of both girls spending time together—behaving like sisters—that was enough to make Lorelai over-the-moon happy.

Yet Lorelai could only imagine what Anna felt, losing her daughter on Christmas. She had only spent a brief amount of time truly away from Rory, and that was when Rory was an adult and decided to live with her grandmother for a semester. She couldn't even think about what it would've been like if Rory would've rather spent time with Christopher than her… much less something as important as Christmas…

She wanted to call her. She knew Anna would probably never like her, and she was okay with that. But there was no reason for her to be mad at Luke or April about that, and especially not hers and Luke's unborn child. She held the phone tightly in her hand, mustering up the courage to call her and hopefully clear the air. Luke kept her number on a sticky note by the phone, just in case, It started to ring, and Lorelai halfheartedly hoped she wouldn't pick up.

 _Hello?_ The voice on the other line called. "Hey, Anna, it's me… Lorelai." There was a pause and then a little huff. _Why are you calling me._ "I—I wanted to thank you for letting April spend Christmas with us. It really meant a lot to Luke, and to me." _April really wants to see her father more, I guess._ Lorelai wondered if the conversation would ever feel less icy between the two of them. She doubted it a good bit. "I still appreciate it… how are you doing, by the way?" _Fine_ , Anna answered, still chilling. _Even though isn't it my job to ask that? I'm not the one that's pregnant, after all._ "But you are the one spending Christmas without your daughter, and I thank you for that." _April has her own life, and she wants to spend time with her_ other _family. There's a new baby, and she wants to spend time with her_ new _family…_

Anna's words hurt Lorelai, but not because they were true. "You know, I felt the same way when Christopher and his wife had a baby?" Lorelai didn't really think about the similarities between the two of them. "Christopher—he's Rory's father. Rory's my daughter." _April's mentioned Rory before. She says nothing but good things about that girl of yours._ "Rory was about April's age when her half-sister GiGi was born, I can only imagine how I would've felt if she decided to live with them." _That's comforting._ "I'm not saying it for—the point is, she didn't. A new baby didn't change the fact that she was _my_ baby. April is still your little girl, whether she wants to be in the life of her baby sister or not. Please just don't be upset with her or Luke if she wants to visit us more with the baby around." _It's a girl?_ Leave it to a baby girl to tug on a mother's heartstrings. Luke would be so good with a baby girl… "Your daughter will have a little half-sister here soon enough, just like my daughter will too." Anna had never thought of it like that: Lorelai had a daughter, just like she had a daughter. Soon enough Luke would have another daughter too. "April is always welcome here, whenever she wants to visit. But she's your daughter too, so it's with your blessing that I invite her to stay for a little more time this summer. Only if she wants to, and if you'll allow it." Anna didn't know what to say. Lorelai worried since the other line went silent. _I'll—I'll talk to April, and I'll call Luke later to discuss this after she gets back home._ "Oh, okay." There was really no better answer to be expected. _You know, next time April comes I think I still have some of her old baby clothes and such—I'm sure she'd love for her little sister to have them… And… thank you, for calling me._ "Anytime. We really love having your daughter around, and—thank you, for raising her to be who she is. April truly is a wonderful young lady." _I know_. Anna's voice was full of pride. Lorelai didn't blame her. She spent almost all of Rory's life gushing about how good she was. The two of them raised two wonderful girls, that was for sure. "Well, Merry Christmas, Anna." _Merry Christmas… and, tell April that I love her. Goodbye._ Without another word, the woman on the other line hung up.

It didn't go quite as badly as Lorelai expected, if she was honest. It was still a little chilling, but at least there was some closure. All she could ask for was a little closure.

Lorelai rubbed her hand along her baby bump, smiling. "Well, baby," She said, talking down to her unborn child. "I know our family may be a little messed up, but they already love you so much."

 _Author's_ _Note:_ _Alright, so this is the next installment, and just a little feel-good moment to keep you tied over till the next chapter is uploaded. Please review and tell me what you think and what you want to see happen next!_


	12. Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Luke stood at the kitchen table, modeling two ties thrown over his shoulder. "Remind me again why we're doing this." He complained, looking at the four women looking from tie to tie.

April and Rory shrugged, looking to the other women at the table. Neither of them really knew either—they had already been told what to wear. Black dresses. It was pretty simple. But Luke had a colored tie so that they wouldn't all be in black. Lorelai just smiled. "Because," Sookie said, taking charge of the conversation. "you don't know the next time you'll all be together! Rory travels a lot, and Obama is looking like a promising candidate. What if she's asked to cover his full presidency? It could be four—eight years before she comes back to Stars Hollow!"

"That won't happen." Rory told Sookie, reaching across the table and squeezing the woman's hand. _That won't happen because that's really not a job option_ , Rory thought to add, but she didn't. April just stifled a laugh.

"Still. Family photos—you guys don't have any! I used to take pictures of Lorelai and Rory _all_ the time, and then Lorelai took pictures of me and Jackson, and me and Jackson and the kids." Lorelai thought about the photos Sookie had taken of her and her daughter with great fondness. "You don't want to wait until the baby comes to take family photos, do you?"

Luke shrugged. He just didn't like pictures. He didn't see the need to get dressed up for pictures. Lorelai had gotten him two ties for Christmas: one that was red with white pinstripes and one that was solid red. He couldn't really tell the difference all that much—unless you were up close who could see the difference?—but she insisted they were too different for her to pick between them. The girls had it simple: Sookie had them pick out the two articles of clothing they had that would look best together, and they were both black dresses. Rory had gotten her mom a black maternity sweater that had a little red belt, so that made it pretty simple (she didn't want to get her pink, just in case Lorelai didn't want anyone knowing it was a little girl).

Lorelai stood up, sweater clad and smiling. With the little red belt on her baby bump was perfectly framed. She wrapped her arms around him, standing on her toes. "Imagine how great we'll look on a Christmas card." She said, grinning. He let out a sigh and grabbed the red tie off his shoulder, finishing getting ready. Lorelai smirked and sat back down at the table. "Rory, April, go get dressed. We'll want to take the pictures before the sun goes down." The girls scurried off. Sookie just looked at Lorelai in slight amazement. "That'll do it."

While putting on his tie, Luke looked back in his sock drawer. There it was—the little jewelry box that he had purchased about a week ago. He couldn't bring himself to wrap it to give to her at Christmas, he gave her something simple and smaller, something for the nursery. And a frame—he got a frame for them, for the family portrait that they didn't have. He realized he had brought this picture-taking event upon himself due to his inability to open his mouth and admit what he wanted. He wanted her to be his wife.

 _It's now or never_ , he thought, grabbing the little black jewelry box and shoving it in his blazer pocket. He looked in the mirror and saw who he was: he was cleaned-up, in a black suit with a red tie. His hair was combed, his scruffy face cleanly shaved. He thought of himself when Lorelai first met him—he must've been flannel-clad, with a ratty hat on, his hair long and curly and falling in his eyes. He wasn't as spry as he was then, but he was a lot better. Happier. And he realized he owed a lot of that to Lorelai.

When Luke came back down the stairs, Lorelai and the girls were waiting for him. Looking at him descending down the stairs, she saw the man that her grandparents probably expected their daughter to be with: refined, successful, well-dressed, and sharp. Sure, he was awkward and gruff, and he didn't sugar coat _anything_ , but if they had seen him like this—and seen the way her mom was smiling at him—their minds would've changed immediately.

Sookie grabbed her camera off the table. "Should we head on outside? It's sunshiney and it'll be perfect. Let's go!"

Rory and April hurried outside and Sookie shortly followed. Lorelai waited at the foot of the stairs for Luke and then took his hand in hers. "You look good." She said, grinning as she leaned in to kiss him. He wrapped his free arm around her waist until she pulled away. "And I'm the luckiest person in all of Stars Hollow."

"We're both very lucky." He said before leading her out to the backyard. She shivered a little. "Do you need me to go back in and grab your coat?"

Lorelai shook her head. "Let's just take some pictures. If I need a coat, I'll go back in and grab one in a little bit."

Everything was perfect. Lorelai's breath was taken away when she saw it in the yard. The girls were already posed and Sookie was getting a picture of just the two of them. After a few shutter clicks, the girls darted off, chasing Paul Anka through the snow with a childlike whimsy Lorelai hadn't seen in Rory since she was ten years old. It was the picture perfect family, she realized, grinning with tears in her eyes.

"It's so… beautiful." She said, wiping her eyes and looking back at him. To her everything was prettier when it snowed, and this was no exception. But snow or no snow, she was so enamored by the scene in front of her. They continued down the porch stairs and then toward the chef with the camera.

The photos weren't forced. All of the photos that Sookie had taken of Rory and Lorelai were impromptu, photos taken simply because they were "in the moment", and she didn't want them to miss anything. And Lorelai's favorite photos of Jackson and Sookie and the kids included her straightening his tie, or making sure the kids didn't muss their hair or outfits. The ones that showed who they really were, not just the ones that showed what they wanted the world to see.

Lorelai let out a little shiver as she leaned into Luke's arms, posing ever so slightly for the photo. Luke leaned over her shoulder and smiled as Rory and April arranged themselves in front of the adults. Here and now, he could only think of one thing making this time better, and it was in his coat pocket. The shutter kept going and the flash kept going off. Sookie just kept taking pictures, watching them all look at one another and smiling. She hadn't seen any of them smile that much—Luke especially.

There was another chilly gust and Lorelai was wrapped in Luke's arms, still shaking from the cold. "Lorelai, why don't you go inside and get your coat?" She nodded and headed up the porch stairs.

"Paul Anka!" She called, and the dog followed her to the door.

While she was inside, she peeked through the window to see Luke talking to Sookie. She couldn't help but wonder how they went from feuding over food to being the type of friends (more or less friends) that they were today. And then there were April and Rory—why hadn't they really met before Christmas? If Lorelai could go back to when she saw the fluffy-haired spectacled girl filling the salt shakers at Luke's Diner, she would've started by introducing her to Rory. Things would've been so different… no, the past was in the past, and this was the pleasant present. April brought out the youth in Rory, which was pretty important, Lorelai thought. Rory hadn't acted like a child in a very long time—she was always very mature for her age, and with April she got to act… her own age. April was adjusting to being a little sister, and Rory was always destined to be a great big sister. Lorelai patted her little baby bump before putting down the curtain and going to get her coat.

Now in their blissful oblivion while taking photographs in the backyard, they had not heard a black Lincoln pull into the driveway. They had not witnessed someone glancing around the corner of the house to see them posing in the snow, and the teen and young lady running around in their black dresses. They had not heard the sound of heels clicking up the porch, or judgmental voices whispering and making comments.

But Lorelai did hear an unexpected knock on the door.

Lorelai pulled her coat off the hook and threw it over her arm before opening the front door. There they stood, looking like the couple out of American Gothic, if only those two had been empty-handed. Her parents. In a mere instant a smile lit up Emily's face as she came into the house towards her daughter. "Lorelai!" She said, opening her arms for a hug. "My goodness, look at you!" Lorelai pulled further away.

"Merry Christmas, darling." Richard said, smiling at his daughter. "Though I guess it's almost new year now… well, happy new year too!"

Lorelai stood there and stared for a moment. Was she imagining this? She must've been hallucinating. Her mother, smiling? Her father, wishing her well? They hadn't spoken to her since September. Without even speaking, she turned on her toes and bolted for the back door.

She ran down the stairs, her coat still thrown over her arm. She ran straight past Luke and to Sookie. "My—" She paused for a moment to catch her breath and minimize her hysterics. Tears were starting to run down her face where she had been blinking them away since she saw them on the porch. Luke came towards her, starting to worry. Was something wrong? Was she okay? He took Lorelai's coat off her arm and threw it around her shoulders so that she'd—at the very least—stop shaking. He was trying to appear calm, but Lorelai being so upset really worried him. "—Parents. They're—they're—"

"Grandma and grandpa are here?" Rory asked, coming closer to her mother. April followed suit. Lorelai gave a teary nod, starting to cry a little more. With those four around her, she couldn't pull herself together. _This_ was her family. That was how she felt in that very moment. Her parents hadn't spoken to her in four months (which she didn't help, due to the fact that she was dodging her mother's phone calls… that was beside the point).

Sookie pulled Lorelai into her arms, trying to comfort her a little bit while also giving instructions to the girls. "Rory, why don't you go inside and see your grandparents? Maybe introduce them to April?" Rory nodded, taking April with her. Luke just looked stunned as Lorelai's sniffling slowed down. "See, that's not too hard." Luke tried to take his girlfriend out of Sookie's arms, but the chef didn't release. His concern grew in his eyes. _Hormones_ , Sookie mouthed, and he nodded as if he understood that fully. Just another write-off of _this is normal_ , he learned. "Luke, why don't you go get them drinks? Lorelai and I will be in there soon, we're just gonna—"

"I need to leave." Lorelai said, cutting the chef off. Luke had started towards the porch per Sookie's instructions. He started back towards her with these words. "I—I can't be here." Lorelai ran through the backyard and toward her car in the driveway.

Sookie gave one last instruction before following her best friend to the car. "I'll handle this. I've been there before. Now _you_ need to handle your in-laws. Go, I'll bring her back when she's calmed down."

Luke just stood in the yard, watching the women run away. He gulped, knowing now that it was just him, the girls, and Lorelai's parents.

 _Author's Note: I must admit, I cannot write a GG story that doesn't include Emily and Richard. But don't worry: it will all be alright. Please review!_


	13. The Past Hurts

The Past Hurts

Lorelai had to get out of there. The kind of surprise she was hoping for certainly hadn't been her parents waiting for her on the porch when she went to go grab her coat. Before she and Sookie ran off, Rory and April went back to their room. The only people in the living room were Emily, Richard, and Luke. "I'm going to go check on the girls." Richard insisted before Luke could get up to move. Before too long, it was just Luke and Emily sitting next to each other in silence on the couch.

He let out a sigh. It was almost painful how silent the house was since the Gilmores got there. Everything was going so well—he had the ring, and after she came back he had asked Sookie to take a picture of just the two of them, and while she was posing Lorelai he was going to get down on one knee and ask. There were going to be pictures. The girls were going to get to watch. It was going to be one great surprise, but now he just had the ring in his coat pocket and a disgruntled would-be mother-in-law staring at the wall.

Emily wasn't any more pleased, but she was going to try to make conversation in the meantime. It wouldn't be the first time her daughter ran away and left her with one of her boyfriends. "Rory said you were having a girl." She said softly, just trying to start a conversation so that they wouldn't sit in silence.

"Yep." He said, popping the 'p'. He glanced back towards the kitchen to see if the girls had come out of the room, or if Richard was coming back, or if by some miracle Sookie had calmed Lorelai down enough for the two of them to come back. None of these things had happened.

Emily tried again with the monosyllabic man. "And do you have a name picked out for my granddaughter?"

"Yes."

"Well what is it?" She asked, growing tired of the short answers and the darting eyes.

He shook his head. "In the meantime, just call her baby Danes." He responded curtly. "We haven't told the girls yet, so…"

"Oh, I see." She watched him fiddle with something in his pocket. "What's that?"

Luke reluctantly pulled the jewelry box out of his pocket and flipped it open to show the ever judgmental Emily Gilmore. "I'm trying to be legitimate." He said quietly. "So there's no need for you to be disappointed in your daughter because of me."

Emily let out a little gasp at the ring before he closed the box and tucked it back into his pocket. ""I'm not disappointed in Lorelai, or in you. I just worry. You love my Lorelai very much." He nodded. "And you're happy about the baby? About everything that's changing, with my daughter and with your ability to just walk away from her scot-free?" He nodded again, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "Luke, do you know what happened in 1984?"

"A lot of things." He said honestly. Her nonplussed look said that she was looking for something more specific. "Rory was born in 1984. I didn't know if you meant—anyways, Rory was born in '84, yeah."

Emily closed her eyes to mask an eye-roll. "Lorelai had been dating Christopher for almost a year then, before she found out about—you know." Emily, for whatever reason, tried to separate young pregnant Lorelai from her dear granddaughter Rory. The discrepancy baffled Luke, but he wasn't about to question it. Emily Gilmore was a woman he was (quite honestly) glad he didn't fully understand. "She and Christopher had been friends since they were children, so it just seemed right. But when she found out, she didn't want to tell us. As a matter of fact, _she_ didn't. Her debutant dress didn't fit her, even when Miss Celine worked so hard on it. Christopher's parents—Christopher had told _them_ not long after Lorelai had told him, I guess he wanted them to do something, I don't even want to think about _what_ —and they wouldn't let him be her date to her coming out anyways." He listened intently. "Lorelai's never told you this story before, has she?"

"All I know about her and Rory before I met her is that Christopher was a shitty dad." He said, not cutting on his filter for his girlfriend's mother. He retracted. "I mean, he was never around. Lorelai didn't really want him around though… oh, that and the fact that they lived at the inn. They've both mentioned that a few times."

 _If only you knew_ , Emily thought, before continuing her story. "Anyways, the Haydens refused to tell Richard and I why Christopher wasn't allowed to go with Lorelai anymore. Lorelai didn't even want to go… I just figured she was being headstrong. Then one night, we sat down to dinner and there was this rapping at the door, and the Haydens were there, asking for explanation and telling us that we shouldn't have allowed our foolish daughter to seduce their successful son into impregnating her. Do you know when all this went down?" He shook his head. He hadn't the faintest idea. "April 26th, 1984. Lorelai's sixteenth birthday. I remember it like it was yesterday." He let out a little scoff unintentionally. He had never heard Emily say nice things about her daughter. Yet Lorelai wasn't here to witness it and she couldn't stop speaking fondly of her. "It was her favorite meal, too, though at the time she couldn't stomach it. Morning sickness. I should've remembered the signs… I wasn't as observant as I had hoped to be.

"I had asked both children to go upstairs and let their parents sort this out." Emily continued. "Richard was very calm about the matter—while the Haydens were suggesting getting rid of _it_ or sending Lorelai away, Richard just wanted Christopher and Lorelai to stay together, to raise the baby, and he would've given Christopher a job in insurance. It seems pretty reasonable, yes?" Luke shrugged. He didn't know if he could get in a word edgewise with how fast Emily told her stories. _Now I know know where Lorelai gets it from_ , thought he. "It wasn't enough. They wanted Christopher to keep his freedom, so there was no shotgun wedding. But over the summer, with Lorelai being pregnant and dealing with all of the things that accompany that, Christopher began to feel bogged down. He couldn't be bothered to—to be a dad, to be a boyfriend, to eventually work. He wanted to be a seventeen-year-old boy, I guess: to do what that entails. Seduce many women, get ready for college, be reckless… the like. A young man can't be too reckless with a baby on the way. It was too much for him. But he stuck around for a little bit, just so that he could prove he put up a good fight. Eventually he'd just spend his days picking fights with Lorelai, asking her why she wasn't giving up the baby, asking what she thought would happen to herself. She got this beautiful pink maternity sundress and spun around in it, modeling it for Christopher. I—I shouldn't have been spying, I know, and I don't know why I remember this the way I do. But I was standing at the top of the stairs, and she asked him, _do you think I'm pretty_? Now, anytime a woman asks that—I'm sure you know, you've dealt with women—the answer is _yes dear_. But that wasn't his answer. He said _you would be if you weren't fat_."

Luke sighed. He had never heard this story, and now he realized why. He knew very little about Lorelai's teenage years other than the fact that she hated being at home, she had her first boyfriend, Christopher, who ended up being the flaky father of her perfect daughter. Lorelai asked him that same question in almost every outfit she modeled for him, hope in her eyes. His answer was always that she was beautiful, and she'd give him a kiss and smile. Now he knew why that question was so important. He saw tears in Emily's eyes as she continued her story, fighting the urge to cry. "We didn't see Christopher after that until after Rory was born. Lorelai didn't have him around. And—my god, I regret it—but I heard Lorelai go back into her room and just lay on her bed and cry. If I could go back I would've consoled her, somehow… I don't know how, but I would've tried. I—I had never seen her so upset, so broken. She didn't speak to anyone else, hardly even me and her father, until after the baby came. She didn't get close to anyone.

"Now Richard thinks that Lorelai left Christopher, so he still likes the young man." Emily continued to explain, realizing that her story had a complex ending. 'With our headstrong daughter determined she didn't need to marry to be an incredible mother—which she proved to be correct about—it wouldn't surprise him. And I liked Christopher too, because he was Rory's father. But I'll never forget the way he treated my daughter: the way he discarded her, the way he forgot how beautiful he used to think she was as soon as she had _his_ baby. And I'll never forgive him for that, though I tried." Luke let out a heavy breath. After how many times Emily had pitted Christopher against him, he couldn't imagine that she didn't like Christopher. "I still think Rory needed a father, and Christopher _was_ her father… but I see how you are with her too, now." That was the closest he thought he'd ever get to approval from Emily Gilmore. "She looks up to you the way I hoped she'd eventually look up to Christopher—and you look after her like she was your own."

Luke smiled. "She's a special kid. Rory means the world to me." He couldn't count the times he had told Rory how important she was when she felt like she wasn't. He couldn't begin to list the occasions where he did something special for her, just because. At her high school graduation, he blubbered like a baby. And he knew that when it came time for April to graduate, too, Lorelai would be in the same boat—the proud not-parent to a kid that mattered in their life.

"And your daughter—"

"April thinks that Rory and Lorelai are absolutely perfect." Luke said with a grin. "They're her family."

 _Family_ , Emily thought, remembering the portraits she very briefly watched being taken. They were all grinning, posing, and yet none of it felt forced. "Do you find my daughter beautiful?" He nodded. "Even with the baby wriggling around in her stomach, things swelling and stretching, even—"

"She's the most wonderful woman I've ever met, and I love her more and more every day." Luke said, looking at her with the most earnest look he could give.

Emily let a stiff nod, patting the diner owner on the knee before getting up and heading towards the kitchen. "She'll love the ring. You four should come to dinner on the fourth. Do you have anything planned?" He shook his head, very confused by her sudden change in attitude. "Should I set the table for six or for five? Is your daughter still going to be in town? I'd very much like to get to know the bright young lady my granddaughter considers her sister… no matter, I'll set the table for six regardless. Seven o'clock on the fourth, and dress like you are right now. Richard!" She called shrilly. "We're headed to the Inn to find Lorelai, say goodbye to the girls for me!"

"Goodbye, girls." Richard parroted, ducking out of the two girl's joint bedroom. He tipped his head to Luke. "Goodbye, Luke." And without another word, the two oldest Gilmores were gone.

True to their guess, Lorelai was still sitting in Sookie's car in the Inn parking lot when they got there. She was just dumbstruck—of all days that they had to come, why did it have to be when they were taking pictures, when they were so blissfully happy? Lorelai had originally grabbed her car keys and _she_ was just going to drive to the Dragonfly, but Sookie insisted on driving. _There's no need to drive when you're this upset_ , Sookie cautioned her, thinking of all the things that could've gone wrong with a teary wrong turn and a car crash. Lorelai didn't think about any of that: she just wanted to be out of there.

Tears streamed down her face as she thought about what had happened. She was just standing there, wrapped in Luke's arms, taking photos with the two girls sitting right in front of them. It was perfect. The snow was all around them and everything was going fine. But she had to pause the moment, only for a second, and proceeded to _ruin_ it. There were her parents—the people that she had been blissfully avoiding since she and Luke had told them about the baby. Why then? Why did they have to come at the very moment where everything was at its most perfect?

She left the girls at the house. She left Luke at the house. She left _her parents_ at the house. The tears continued to stream down her face as she thought about that. In the face of things going wrong, she ran away. Sookie just patted her on the shoulder as she wasn't saying anything, just trying to comfort her without knowing what was going on in her mind. Lorelai worried because when things went wrong, she broke down and ran away. Would she try to run from Luke? Would she ever run from her little girl? She cried even harder and fell onto Sookie's shoulder.

Her crying stopped when there was a knock on the driver's side window. Lorelai looked over to see her mother looking in to the minivan. "Oh, great." She said, trying to suck up any remaining tears. She let out a deep breath and got out of the car to see her mother and father standing in the parking lot. "It wasn't enough to show up at my house? You had to show up at my work too?"

"Allow me to explain—" Emily started, walking towards her daughter.

Lorelai crossed her arms and explained herself. "What do you want to _explain_? You don't like the choices I'm making in my life. I'm not sixteen anymore, mom. I can make my own decisions. And we planned to have this baby. And she is going to be so loved by Luke and I."

"I know." Emily said coolly. Richard stood behind her with his hand on her shoulder.

"And I love him, too."

Emily nodded. "I know that as well."

"And he loves me." Lorelai finished, confused by her mother's coolness.

"More than you'll ever know." Emily smiled, hoping that Luke would propose to her daughter soon and they'd be the absolute perfect family. They were already a great family… she wanted to see her little girl get married.

Lorelai was baffled by her reaction. "Then why were you so angry with me, and with him, when we told you about the baby?"

"I wasn't angry, I was worried." Emily admitted. _Worry_ , Lorelai thought, _now that's an emotion that I never thought that_ the _Emily Gilmore would feel_. "I haven't seen you this happy in a very long time. And I'm so happy that you're happy, and you're in love, and that you're going to have a little girl—another granddaughter for me to love. But I saw what happened with Christopher—"

"Me and Christopher weren't meant to be, mom." Lorelai said, her words like daggers. "I did him a favor by letting him go. He didn't need me tying him down…"

Emily pursed her lips. "I saw what _really_ happened with Christopher." For the first time in a long time, Lorelai and Emily saw eye-to-eye. "I don't want to see you hurt like that. Ever. Never again."

Lorelai couldn't help it, but she felt the tears returning. "You… you knew?" Emily nodded. Lorelai tried to put up such a good front… without any further notice, she felt her mother wrapping her in a hug. She couldn't control her tears any further. She cried onto her mother's collar. "I didn't want Rory to think badly—I didn't want to worry you—"

Emily just patted her back and tried to console her child. It was many years too late, but she realized that she should've done exactly that in the moment. She was only 23 years too late. "Luke is a good man; I know that now. And he's going to treat you like you deserve—very well." Lorelai cried harder. "You're not a sixteen-year-old girl anymore, and I know you'll make the best decisions for yourself. And if you weren't—trust me, your father and I would try to stop you."

Lorelai let out a little laugh, pulling back and wiping her eyes. _Try_ , she thought, _that's the optimal word._ She was tired of crying, so she just took a moment and she looked at her parents. This time they looked like she had hoped they would when they first told them: happy, even venturing towards being proud. "I know."

"We don't always say it," Richard started, saying the first thing to his daughter in ages. These were words he had been thinking for far too long but never conveyed. "but your mother and I are so proud of you, always." Lorelai gave a hug to her father. He wasn't a touchy-feely man, but he returned her affection.

Emily joined in for a group hug. Lorelai wondered, only for a moment, where all the love and support was coming from. But she didn't want to question it: if she questioned it, it might go away. "And we can't wait to meet the littlest one, soon enough. If we're still allowed to be in her life?"

Lorelai nodded, pulling the two of them closer. She didn't _need_ her parents in the past, but this time she _wanted_ them there. Unlike 23 years ago, this time it was all going to go right.

 _Author's Note: and here's the most recent installment! Please review and I'll try to write a little quicker. I'd love to know what you all think!_


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